Unknown Hero
by samehada smashdown
Summary: Dumbledore commissioned for three Konoha shinobi to find out information about Draco Malfoy's relations to Death Eaters, but what will they really find out? Sixth year. DracoSakuraHarry.
1. Sealing One's Fate

_A/N: My second HPxN story! My first one, Trouble, will be on hold until I get the inspiration for it again. But there should be a third one on the way anytime soon, that one with the pairing Sakura & Ron (don't ask XD it just seems like fun to write!)._

_Pairings for this story: SakuraxHarry, HinataxNaruto, and HermionexRon._

**Unknown Hero**

Sealing One's Fate

Naruto grinned widely as his fourth bowl of ramen was placed in front of him. The owner of the ramen shop could only smile at his favorite customer, who was demolishing the bowl. The boy's teammate sat next to him, swirling her chop stick around in her ramen, looking at it with disdain.

"ARIGATOU!" Naruto cheered, slapping the money needed for their collective five bowls of ramen on the table. Sakura looked up from her mostly full bowl, pushed it aside, and stood as well.

"Gomen, Teuchi-san. I'm just not very hungry..." She gave him a small bow of apology, which he waved off.

"It's fine, Sakura." He nodded with a smile, disappearing behind the counter with their two bowls. Sakura turned around as well, following Naruto to the Hokage Tower to brief her shishou on their mission.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto chimed, draping his arm around her shoulder. Long ago did he realize his crush on her was not only misguided, but it was going nowhere. Now their relationship is purely sibling-like; they've become best friends ever since Sasuke left them. They were a pair, those two. He made use of his demon, as well as his ninjutsu abilities, while Sakura had an affinity for medical ninjutsu and – thanks to her superhuman strength – was a feared taijutsu user as well.

"That mission was _easy_! I don't know why you're so down." He commented, looking down at her. Normally, she would share her feelings with him…but he didn't know why she was just so _sad_. They just had a successful A-ranked mission together! Shouldn't she be happy?

"I still let someone die, Naruto." She sighed, eyes downcast. It wasn't a lie – but it wasn't the whole truth either. She had seen Sasuke. Her Sasuke – _he was there_ – stared straight at her, scowled, and vanished. She couldn't help but feel weak. She didn't even have the guts to run over and punch him in the face for all the pain he caused her. And that falter made her miss one of the few survivors in the wreckage being crushed by a building, only to be found dead half an hour later.

Naruto pressed his lips to the top of her head in a comforting, brotherly way. "Everyone dies, Sakura. Yes, even _you_ will die once in your life." She elbowed him for that, to which he laughed. She smiled, earnestly glad that he could make her smile when she was upset. Naruto was one of a very select group of people that could do that, and the entire group consisted of blondes: Naruto, Ino, and Temari.

"Keep that up and you'll be dead a hell of a lot sooner," She half-heartedly threatened. Naruto laughed even louder, but removed his arm in fear of it being snapped in half.

The rest of their trek to the tower was in silence, and Tsunade's intoxicated talk with the duo went relatively…well. While she was more irritable in her drunken state, she was deaf to words that would usually cause the speaker of said word(s) to be in the hospital in two seconds flat. And, thankfully, one of those words was Naruto's use of "baa-chan", and his insatiable whining.

After briefing Tsunade on the highs and lows of the mission, with promises of full reports in the morning, Tsunade sent Sakura home. "Naruto, stay." Her stern look to Sakura was all she needed as reassurance to high tail it to her comfy bed.

Naruto, on the other hand, sat back down in the not-so-comfortable wooden chair in front of Tsunade's desk. Tsunade pressed a finger to her temple in hopes of clearing her mind to what she wanted to say next.

"Ah, yes, Naruto." She announced him as if he just entered the room. Naruto jumped at this. "You and Sakura have another mission, along with another ninja I have yet to select." Naruto cringed, not at the fact of another mission…but he knew who _wouldn't_ appreciate it. Especially with it being right after their latest mission.

"I'll brief you in on the mission now, but you will give this scroll to Sakura, restating the mission in case you've forgotten and giving more details." She hastily threw him the scroll, and he looked up at her in horror.

"But…Baa-chan…why do _I_ have to give Sakura-chan the scroll?" His voice was desperate, hoping that someone else could tell Sakura of the mission. Anyone, _anyone but him!_

Tsunade gave him a lazy, triumphant smirk. "Because _I_ am the Hokage, and I say so." With that she pushed him out of her office, only after giving him the tiniest details of the mission.

In that instant, Naruto decided that he could take his time getting back to the apartment he shared with Sakura – again, _strictly_ brother-sister relationship. Both of their parents were dead, so why live separately when they were already so close? – as to delay the dreaded moment in which he would unveil the scroll that would, inevitably, cause his murder by one Haruno Sakura.

* * *

Minerva McGonagall sighed irritably, standing in front of Dumbledore and Snape, who were both talking in hushed tones. The eldest wizard looked up, his blue eyes crinkling with a smile.

"Ah, Minerva. I'm so glad you could make it." Snape only nodded in greeting, in which McGonagall narrowed her eyes before turning back to Dumbledore.

"And what is it you needed to speak to me about?" Her stern face showed none of her internal suspicion. She never liked Snape in the first place, and with him being the head of Slytherin House wasn't much of a help to him either.

Dumbledore fully turned his body towards her in his chair, placing his folded hands on his lap. "It is quite likely that Draco Malfoy has followed in his father's footsteps and joined the ranks of the Death Eaters." McGonagall inwardly flinched. She was quite aware of Snape's former affiliation with the Death Eaters, and wondered if he still held any ties with them. He was friendly with Lucius Malfoy even before their Death Eater years together, and surely-

"I've commissioned for the student of an old colleague of mine to send three capable ninjas to Hogwarts for the up-coming year. They are to be sorted and treated as foreign exchange students, and the mission they're being assigned is to figure out if Draco really has affiliated himself with the Death Eaters." McGonagall pursed her lips, letting the information run through her mind.

"But how will they fit in with the students? If they can't use magic-"

"On the contrary," Snape cut in, in which McGonagall scowled at his rudeness, "These ninja already use a form of magic. To fit in with the students, all they need to do is learn how to use wands as an outlet…and how to recreate spells."

Dumbledore looked between the two, outwardly oblivious to the tension. He gave them both smiles before giving a dismissive wave to McGonagall. "That is all, Minerva. My apologies for interrupting you in…whatever you were doing." McGonagall eyed him sharply, wondering just _what_ was going through his head.

But the look in Dumbledore's eye gave away that he knew to be cautious of Snape, but wished to give nothing away. And with that, the witch turned on her heel and left the wizards to their own discussion. She had better things to do than worry about one of the most powerful wizards in the world, anyway.

* * *

Long ago Naruto had figured out that Sakura had some form of Napoleon Complex. She made up for her short stature with sheer strength, intelligence, and total and utter _fear_.

She was sure to strike terror in all those that opposed her, including her friends. _Especially _Naruto.

She was his little sister, one of the few people he would readily die for…but she was just _scary_. And he wouldn't doubt she'd try to destroy the world if given a reason to.

With that in mind, he always took extra caution in telling her news she didn't want to hear.

Now was such a case. Tsunade-baa-chan had held him back to discuss a new mission, an even longer mission than the only they had just completed. This mission was, for now, a year long. It was common knowledge that Sakura _hated_ missions one after another, especially long-term missions. With not even a day in between them, Naruto shuddered…for he was a dead man.

The scroll that he carried in his hands felt like a ton of bricks as he made his way to the apartment. He stood in front of the door for a good ten minutes, staring at the innocent numbers 518 in a manner that would surely have made Uchiha Sasuke laugh at his "friend's" distress.

Once he slowly and quietly opened the door, he let out a yelp at the sight before him. Through the dark living room stood Sakura, glowering at him, hands on her hips. Well, the only part he could really see was her hair, which looked like a faint glow in the black…and she looked _scary as hell_. Naruto almost fell on his rear as she neared him.

"What did shishou want?" Her voice was icy and while she really didn't care about her shishou's relations – she wasn't even _phased_ when Tsunade told her things that went on between her and Orochimaru in their younger years, nor her current thing with Jiraiya – but she prided herself on being the current Hokage's favorite student.

So it was fair to say that she was jealous of Naruto. Because, really, since _when_ did her shishou want to just talk to him, alone? And the matter was obviously unrelated to his Hokage training, as Tsunade always had this certain air of irritation when discussing that as it made her feel her actual age.

Naruto gulped at the Napoleon- no, _Hitler_-like kunoichi in front of him as he shakily closed the door behind him. Sakura snapped her fingers together after completing a short series of hand signs, and her finger tips glowed. A make-shift light bulb. She advanced slowly, due to her short legs, but it made it all the more menacing.

"Ah…Sakura-chan…it's late…" Naruto tried to distract her train of thought, yawning widely in hopes of getting her to yawn as well. She kept her jaw clenched to suppress the yawn, intensifying her stare.

"Naruto…" She hissed, reminding Naruto of Shikamaru's mother. (The woman was kind, really, but she was worked up over the littlest of things, one reason being her husband and son's laziness.)

"Alright, alright! Baa-chan gave us another mission." He waved the scroll innocently in the air. To his delight, her glare was directed to the scroll.

"_Bullshit_," Her tone made him jump in fear. He swore to kami he just heard the devil. And when he thought about it – while Sakura was busy plotting the death of her shishou – baa-chan was like the grim reaper and Sakura was the devil. Tsunade was pure evil and sentenced him to death by extraction of his soul, and Sakura was the one to inflict the most torture while she slowly completed the sentence given by the grim reaper.

He prayed to _anyone and everything_ that he'd survive until the morning, even with the two beasts of hell against him.


	2. Two of a Kind

_A/N: So, I've been getting some requests to have this story be Sakura x Draco. (And honestly, I really like that pairing.) And even though it would meddle some of the future events, I have decided to do two things._

_ONE: Make this a love triangle ;D HarryxSakuraxDraco._

_TWO: Made a poll on my profile for who you'd rather her end up with._

_So vote. Yeah. (: And sorry it's short!_

**Unknown Hero**

Two of a Kind

Kakashi dodged yet another attack with fear. His pinkette student that he was sparring against was using her rage in a beneficial way. Beneficial to whom, he did not know. All he knew was that if he didn't dodge her attacks, he would die.

"Sakura-chan, there are trees _over there_ you can pummel," He tried to reason, but she didn't seem to hear a word he said. She merely kept throwing punches that were heavily laced with chakra at his body, one coming _very_ close to his manhood – in which tears were budding at the corners of his eyes and his face was blanched.

"I'm done, Kaka-sensei." Sakura sighed, placing her gloved hands on her black short-clad hips. She was visibly calmer, but her knuckles were still white.

"Tired already?" Kakashi tried to play off his joy, but he couldn't help the crinkle in his mask indicating his wide smile.

"No, shishou wanted me to meet her at her office with the team before we head off on our mission." She ran a hand through her hair, not even looking at Kakashi.

"See you in a year, ja!" Kakashi immediately poofed away, irking Sakura even more. She growled something incoherent, but simply stomped off to Tsunade's office.

**.**_**i'm your**_** UNKNOWN HERO.**

Hinata had _no_ understanding of what was going on. All she knew was that she woke up to her father loudly banging on her door, a very hyper _and cute_ Naruto pulled her out of her house, and here she was standing in front of the Hokage – hair ruffled, clad in a baggy tee-shirt and shorts – standing beside both the sun and rage personified.

_When did Sakura-chan get so temperamental?_

But when the shy girl lifted her eyes back to Tsunade, she saw an almost identical look of rage on the elder woman's face. Oh, yeah, _that's_ where it came from.

Tsunade cleared her throat. "Alright, Hinata. You've been selected for a long-term mission with these two." Tsunade vaguely gestured to the still-beaming Naruto…and still-angry Sakura.

"You three will be posing as students in a school of…magic." The three all gave her blank stares, as if she was playing a trick on them. She shook her head. "This is real, believe it or not." She snorted before continuing again.

"Anyway. Your mission is to figure out the relations of a student to an evil group of wizards called Death Eaters." She said simply, folding her hands over another scroll, repeating what the scroll, that she gave the former Team 7 members, said.

Sakura raised a brow. "So shishou, how will we be fitting in with the students?"

"This magic that they wield is very similar to our chakra. However, we are able to control chakra much better than they can control magic, as they use…'wands' to control the magic. You three will need wands as well and will need to learn how to use them properly. This is where Headmaster Dumbledore – and old friend of Sarutobi's – comes in. He will be here later to help you all with everything you will need to know and do. Come back here in three hours. DISMISSED!"

The two walked out of the room while one poofed out in a cloud of green smoke. Hinata fidgeted with her fingers, trying oh so hard to _not_ to look – and consequently stare and drool – at the blonde beside her.

"Hey, Hinata-chan?" Naruto turned to her, and Hinata had a miniature panic attack. She could only nod her head to give him indication that she was listening.

"Could you come to my apartment with me? I'm afraid of being murdered." Hinata was afraid at the seriousness of his words. And she was afraid of what she said next.

"W-Well since Sakura-chan would probably pack qu-quickly, how about you come with m-me to my house and then go to yours?" She felt her face heat up like the sun. _What did she just say?_

While she was feeling faint, Naruto couldn't help but grin. "That's brilliant, Hinata-chan! Let's go!"

And then Naruto hoisted Hinata onto his back; Hinata froze up. "Hey, hey, Hinata-chan! I'll give you a piggy-back ride to your house, okay?" And without even waiting for her reply, he ran off to the Hyuuga Estates, the Hyuuga on his back forcing herself both not to faint and to breathe.

**.**_**i'm your**_** UNKNOWN HERO.**

Dumbledore's aged fingers flipped the yellowed page of a book, his eyes gazing at the words through his spectacles. The door to his office opened, and Minerva McGonagall walked in, the heels of her boots barely making a sound.

"Ah, Minerva," He gently placed the bookmark inside the book, closing it and folding his hands on it. Fawkes' wings fluttered to show his mild contentment at seeing Minerva, before looking at Dumbledore. "What brings you here?"

Minerva cleared her throat, taking another glance at the name messily scribbled on the scroll she held in her hand.

"You've received word from…Tsunade…on the ninja you've commissioned." She paused greatly on Tsunade's name, slowly sounding it out. Dumbledore smiled.

"Ah, thank you dearly Minerva." He took the scroll from her hands, and unraveled the thing. Minerva scrunched her nose at it, wondering why they couldn't just use regular parchment.

Dumbledore read over the script, all written in better English than Tsunade's name on the front. Three photographs of very…unique-looking ninja were printed on the scroll: a tan, blonde-haired, blue-eyed grinning boy; a pale girl with obscenely pink hair that looked natural and bright green eyes; and a fair-skinned, white-eyed girl with dark, blue-ish hair.

"There will certainly be no question of who the new students are." Minerva peeked at the contents and the student's pictures, raising a thin eye brow, silently agreeing with Dumbledore.

"Well, sir, I do believe you have everything. And I have papers to sort." Minerva awkwardly excused herself from Dumbledore's office and turned on the heel of her boot. She couldn't help but think of how out of place the new students will be, and if someone would catch on.

The wise wizard gently picked the spectacles off his face, wiped the lens with his sleeve, and put them back on, looking at the grandfather clock in the corner of his office. He stood and his gaze caught Fawkes'.

"It's time," Dumbledore apparated away, into a seemingly different time, and Fawkes wearily blinked before bursting into flames, only to be reborn from the ashes soon after.

The phoenix was a representation of how easily a life can start, and how it can just as easily, in the blink of an eye, be taken away. When Dumbledore had time to think, he thought about that. Shinobi, who are so used to death. How will they take to the fear of death wizards tend to have?

**.**_**i'm your**_** UNKNOWN HERO.**


	3. Three's Displacement

_A/N: I've missed this story! And I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update. All my information for this story was saved on my computer...which died almost a year ago. I kept hoping that I'd get my information back buuut no such luck!_

_So I apologize that this story will be rough for a little while, as I'm trying to re-figure all my ideas for this story. (And this chapter is abit rushed in my opinion, since I had a hard time with it.)_

_AND THANK YOU TO EVERY ONE OF MY REVIEWERS! Reading all of your wonderful reviews has driven me to update this!_

_Also! I have a new poll up on my page, this time asking which house you'd like to see her in. However, her house is almost already chosen, but I would still love to see your opinions on it, as we have at least two chapters until the sorting ceremony and my mind could change. (;_

**Unknown Hero**

_Three's Displacement_

Sakura reappeared in her apartment, glaring at any and everything in sight. She thought of her shishou, her roommate, and those stupid _children_ she had to be around.

She had to really try to keep her anger in check.

She moved from the living room to her bed room, which hadn't been touched in a while, her pack from last night's mission still sitting on the bed, fully packed.

Bright green eyes sadly scanned the room she had only slept in last night, and before that, it had been _months_. Her grip on the doorframe tightened suddenly, and the wood split under her fingers. She pulled back a chunk, before angrily throwing it to the ground.

She went to her closet, blew the dust off the handles, then slid it open.

The only positive thing of the mission, she supposed, was that she could wear casual clothing once again.

She emptied her pack of the blacks, reds, and blues before packing more civilian-like clothing. But not too much, as she supposed they would buy more clothing upon their arrival in order to effectively blend in. She placed in nearly all her sleep-wear, undergarments, and even a few dresses - just incase.

Next in were two smaller bags - one black and one pink - that had infinite space in them due to an expansion jutsu. The pink held all toiletries and accessories given to her by Ino, and the black all her weapons - both undetectable.

She looked over all the items, mentally checking off a list in her head.

"Leaving so soon?" A voice from behind her called, and the pinkette twitched at the fact that her friend snuck up on her.

"Why, gonna miss me?" She didn't have to turn around to know who it was, and she didn't feel like a proper was greeting was necessary.

The person huffed, before stepping beside her and peering into her bag.

"Going on vacation?" She motioned to the clothing she had packed - and how there were only three pairs of combat clothes, and her jonin vest was packed instead of on her person.

It was Sakura's turn to snort, knocking her hip into their's.

"I'm not you, Pig." Ino rolled her eyes.

"It was just an observation, sheesh! Most of your missions aren't undercover." Ino crossed her arms over her chest defensively.

Sakura's shoulders sank when she sighed. "I know. I'm just...irritated, is all. This one is, for now, a year long. A _year_. With Hinata and _Naruto_. And we're gathering information on a student. In a school! Of magic!" Sakura paced back and forth, nearly yelling her rant as Ino simply nodded along, letting it all soak in, and allowing Sakura to get everything off her chest before she cut in.

"And we have to fit in. Like, pretend to use magic with wands and stuff. or actually use magic. Or something. I don't know. And that's the problem, pig. _I don't know_. I want to be fully prepared for this, but I _can't_." She threw her arms up in frustration, and turned back to Ino, whose eyes were narrowed in concentration.

"Forehead, darling, with this mission being a year long, you _will_ get the hang of the...magic...world. Especially if its just an information mission. I know you'll have time to let everything sink in." Ino placed her hand on Sakura's shoulder in a hopefully comforting gesture. And, seeing as the girl didn't knock it off, it was.

"But, Ino-"

"But nothing! The only trouble you'll have is keeping _Naruto_ in line for a _year_. That boy isn't built for it." She laughed.

"I just hope Hinata can handle it," Sakura smirked, making Ino laugh even more.

"Of _course_ she'll love it. She'll practically be Mrs. Uzumaki by the time she comes back!" Ino's comment sent them both into fits of laughter, which only halted by the apartment door opening, and two pairs of footsteps entering, the owners lost in their own chatter.

Not wanting to continue on the track with Naruto and Hinata in the apartment now, Ino put both her hands on the girl's shoulder. "Come to the shop before you leave," She smiled, before gently turning on her heel and out the door, giving greetings to the new pair.

Sakura gave her room one last look, before grabbing something on her nightstand. It was a picture frame, the one that had held the original Team 7 photo. That photo was now covered by one of the "new" Team 7: Naruto, herself, Sai, Yamato, and Kakashi - who, while not apart of the new team, insisted on lurking in the background, reading one of his copies of Icha Icha in his signature casual manner.

Naruto had a wide grin on his face and one arm hanging on her waist. She was in the middle, only one eye open with an equally wide smile as Naruto's, and her arms were on both the boy's shoulders - her hanging feet were swung behind her. On her other side was Sai, whose arms hung awkwardly at his sides and his ever-present fake smile plastered on his face. Yamato stood behind them all, hands clasped behind his back and shoulders squared, not really knowing what else to do.

She smiled at the photo, and placed it in her bag . For memory's sake. She closed it up, and once she heard Naruto's heavy steps coming towards her open door, she was gone in a puff of green smoke.

* * *

The three of them stood in Tsunade's office, everyone exchanging looks, wondering when their guest would arrive, and everyone in civilian-style clothing - but still giving them enough mobility in case of an attack, just in case.

Sakura wore one of Naruto's faded, old orange shirts - which she had stolen long ago -, tied up the side revealing a bit if midriff, white cargo shorts, black sandals, and her black fingerless gloves. Pinned to her pack was an odd flower, with blue petals that faded to pink, that Ino had given to her - with instructions of _not_ to worry about watering it, which was odd in itself.

Hinata had a simple, roomy lavender halter top, grey shorts that hit her knees, and black sandals.

Naruto wore a black shirt with the orange Uzumaki symbol on the sleeve, blindingly orange shorts, and black sandals.

The older woman before them rested her chin on her folded hands, studying them. She was putting these shinobi in the hands of a man she never met, that she herself didn't particularly trust.

But Sarutobi had.

Suddenly, a figure appeared before them, seemingly twisting from thin air. It was a tall and thin old man, with extremely long silver hair, and crystal-clear blue eyes. He wore long, elegant purple robes matching the velvet hat atop his head.

He began to say something in a language none of them understood before laughing to himself and removing a stick from his pocket. Or most likely a wand, the trio supposed, as when he pressed the stick to his throat, the tip glowed white and when he removed it, he repeated his words in Japanese.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Professor Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Everyone paused, letting the information sink in.

Tsunade stood up from behind her desk and was about to make her way to him, but he shook his head and walked to her. "I may be old, but I can most certainly walk across a room." He smiled lightly, holding out an outstretched left hand which Tsunade quickly shook.

Tsunade smirked, "Of course, I was only trying to help a senior citizen." She pulled away, before sitting back down in her chair. "I am Tsunade, the Hokage - or leader - of this village. But you already knew that." She waved off her introduction, before motioning to the young shinobi in front of her.

"And I trust that my scroll to was received?" She asked, to which Dumbledore nodded.

"Indeed, and I thank you for it." He turned to face them, folding his hands in front of them. "Now, instead of attempting to pronounce your names, could you please introduce yourselves?" He said humorously, a hint of a smile on his lips. The three nodded, nearly smiling as well.

Naruto stepped forward a step, a wide grin on his face. "I'm the future Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto!"

Sakura glared at him, before yanking the back of his shirt so he returned in the line. She then turned to Dumbledore with an innocent smile, "Haruno Sakura."

Hinata's eyes widened when she realized it was her turn, and she tried her best to keep her voice strong, "Hyuuga H-Hinata."

Dumbledore fondly looked at the three, seeing how spirited they were. He honestly didn't know what to expect of the "killing machines" - as Minerva had put it -, but they were a pleasant surprise.

He nodded his thanks, and turned back to Tsunade. "Do I have permission to take our leave?"

Tsunade was about to open her mouth, but she stopped herself and stood up without saying a word. She began walking to the three, giving both Naruto and Hinata a caring look, before wrapping her arms around her student, who returned the bone-crushing embrace with ease.

Neither said a word, because nothing had to be said.

Dumbledore could practically _feel_ the bond the two have, and he almost turned away from them in embarrassment. It was endearing.

After what seemed to be forever, Tsunade let the girl go, ruffling her hair. "See you in a year, Sakura-chan." Her moment of weakness was over, and she began walking to her desk, throwing up a hand as a sign that they could leave.

"Grab my arm," He instructed, holding up his left arm and deliberately putting his right arm behind him. The three stood awkwardly, all with a good grip on his arm.

And when Tsunade turned around, they had already vanished.


	4. Four Presences

_A/N: This definitely came out later than I expected, and for that I'm sorry. But in any case, I hope you enjoy it! (And it's cut a bit short, since I leave for college Friday (August 31st) and don't know when I will be able to work on this story when I arrive...)_

_Also! I forgot to mention this in the last chapter, after the houses are revealed (and, therefore, the current poll will end) I will put up the pairing poll again - mainly because it's tied: 7 votes each for Draco and Harry, and 4 for "my choice" - and I'd still love to get feedback, though there will definitely be moments for both pairing no matter what._

**Unknown Hero**

_Four Presences_

The four suddenly stopped, the three shinobi stumbling to keep their balance. It was an odd pain they'd just experience, like their entire body was being squeezed through a very small space.

It took them a second to remember that they were no longer within the shinobi nations, and in an entirely new world altogether, and they instantly righted themselves - Sakura noticed Dumbledore's eyebrows raise slightly in surprise at their recovery - to look around.

They appeared to be in a market place, and a dreary place at that. Nothing like Konoha's.

Posters were plastered on every available surface, large groups of people scurried around with their heads down, bodies covered in flowing black cloaks, and not one person staring at the colorful new-comers.

Well, except the merchants of the outside stands.

One in particular screamed upon seeing Dumbledore with the colorful group, thrusting his wares to them as they passed.

"Even though _you_ don't need it, Mister, Sir, er-" He began stumbling over what to call the man, and Dumbledore simply pushed back his hands and continued walking ahead of the shinobi without saying a word.

Tired of his silence, Sakura began to walk beside him.

"Ah, excuse me Dumbledore-san, but why are we here?"

Behind his spectacles, his eyes crinkled with his smile - which she found endearing, as it reminded her of her idiotic sensei Kakashi.

"We're here to get all your school supplies," He heard Naruto's groan - who had forgotten that the mission involved school - and the sharp sound of Sakura smacking his head. "Well, excluding your books, since we must see what you all have an affinity for later."

"And what of our...wands?" Sakura pressed.

Dumbledore weaved his fingers in his beard for a moment as if pondering something, before pointing to a boarded up shop.

"The best wand-maker, Ollivander, is currently missing, so we will have to go to Italy - perhaps Germany - for them." Despite not knowing what those places were - or the implication that they would have to apparate again - they dumbly nodded.

Realizing his mistake, Dumbledore chuckled to himself. "Those are different countries than the one we are currently in, which is England. It's a lot like your different shinobi nations, I'd reckon, except they are more open to peaceful outsiders."

"Speaking of that, how _do_ you know about the nations?"

Dumbledore smiled mischievously. "Now, that, my dear is a very old tale that we don't have enough time for," He led them to a shop, with cloaks similar to those everyone wore on display in the front.

He held the door open for them saying, "Welcome to Madam Malkin's, where you'll be getting your uniforms."

Sakura and Hinata slipped inside in front of Naruto, and while they stood quietly to the side looking at all the strange cloaks, Naruto openly gawked at everything, particularly a cloak with bright orange trim.

Dumbledore handed them each a list as he stepped in, and was about to speak until a short, round woman weaved expertly between racks, a wide smile on her face.

"Welcome, welcome dearies! Is there- Oh, Professor Dumbledore, sir!" Her smile seemed to stretch wider across her wide face.

"Good evening, Madam Malkin," Dumbledore nodded his head in greeting, before motioning to the three students beside him. "I have three transfer students that need to be measured for their robes."

"B-But D-Dumbledore-san, how w-will we pay-" Dumbledore kindly held up a hand to interrupt Hinata.

"Not to worry my dear, your school has that covered. They have already sent me the necessary funds." He winked, a mischievous smile on his face.

* * *

Hours later - after Sakura bought almost all of the available types of gloves that could be used in place of her current pair, Naruto knocked over various vials of _something_, and Hinata refusing to leave the Magical Menagerie with only _one_ animal - they entered what seemed to be a run-down bar.

The only person inside was an old, bad man whose eyes seemed to light up at their entrance, and once Dumbledore stepped inside the man nearly had a heart attack.

"Ah, Tom, nice to see you again. I suppose business has been slow?" Tom could only nod.

"Well it seems that my friends here are in need of somewhere to stay for the night. I think a single and a double will suffice." Tom scrambled behind the bar, knobby fingers looking for the correct keys. Finally, he turned around and his shaky hands were thrusted towards Dumbledore.

"Rooms Sixteen and Seventeen, Professor Dumbledore," Dumbledore nodded his thanks, passing him the necessary funds and some extra, in case they wanted food or drinks.

As they walked towards the staircase, Dumbledore put a hand on Hinata's shoulder.

"Regrettably, I won't be the one accompanying you to Hogwarts tomorrow. However, any questions you have regarding the task that you have after reading this," He pulled a scroll from his robes and handed it to Hinata, "he will be able to answer in just about the same capacity as I could. Now, I hope you three get a good night's rest." He sent them all a pleasant smile, before disapparating, leaving the three to go to their rooms.

They all sat in room Seventeen - the double room - and, after putting up the necessary genjutsu and traps that have been drilled into them upon staying in inns, they began to relax and look over the scroll Dumbledore had given them.

"This magic stuff, it's weird," Naruto said, laying flat on his back, his head propped up on his folded arms. "Especially that joke shop, with the two twins. _That _had some freaky stuff."

"Could've fooled me, by the way you had to touch _everything_," Sakura gave him a dry look. Naruto laughed nervously.

"Didn't mean it wasn't cool! Like, look what Hinata-chan bought! This animal-thing, it's _pink_!" Hinata sighed at Sakura's expression, which Naruto didn't catch until she snapped, "Something _wrong_ with being _pink_?!"

Naruto jumped and hid behind Hinata, whose face began to flush in a matter of seconds and didn't breathe again until Sakura yanked Naruto back onto the floor.

"C-Can we get t-to the s-scroll now, p-please?" Hinata softly asked, not wanting to agitate Sakura any further, and scratching the head of the Pygmy Puff - the "pink thing" - that was on her shoulder.

"Ah," Sakura nodded, instantly simmering down and unrolling the scroll. Naruto sat down out of her reach and closer to Hinata, and the girl kept sending Sakura a face that screamed that she needed help, but she simply ignored her.

Hinata, eventually, regained her breath and turned her head away from Sakura, not listening to her as she asked for her or Naruto's opinion.

Naruto sighed, leaning back on his hands as he looked at the two next to him who were fighting a silent battle - _why_ he'd never know - and tilted his head back.

And just by how complicated the school _itself_ sounded, he knew it was going to be a _long_ year.


	5. Five Words

_A/N: Hola everyone! This story will definitely stay slowly progressing (shown by my last update being in August…) but I definitely still get inspiration for this from time to time. But! You can read about how I'm trying to remedy that at the end of the chapter, it's a sort of interactive thing I'm gonna be trying out._

_Also, because I'm incredibly lazy, their wand selections are what they got off of pottermore…because I created an account for each of them XD Once the houses are revealed (possibly next chapter) I'll put them up here for ya'll (and Naruto's was the hardest, because he kept getting sorted into the wrong house since it's my opposite house…D: It took me four tries! FOUR! (and yes, his previous accounts have been deleted in order to free up those names again. I know many people get touchy with the whole "multiple account" thing.))_

**Unknown Hero**

_Five Words_

The three of them screamed, clutching each other in fear. The giant in the front seat simply let out a hearty chuckle.

Sakura wished she never woke up that morning. Hinata was hyperventilating from being so close to Naruto, and overcome by the fear that she was going to die. Naruto wanted to get out of this "flying car"…and _fast_.

Or at least, that's what this giant named Hagrid called it.

He wasn't a _giant_ giant, Naruto supposed. After all, he'd seen his fair share of insanely tall shinobi, but this man was just _huge_!

This man had knocked on their doors that morning – their sensors had already picked up his presence, and they greeted him armed to the teeth, nearly giving him a heart attack. After giving them the password that Dumbledore had given them that night, they had followed him outside to a rather large metal contraption, something he called a "car".

It was rusty reddish brown in color, with sheets of glass wrapping around the upper parts of the thing. Naruto stepped forward cautiously, poking the thing with his index finger. He immediately recoiled, as if the thing would retaliate.

Hagrid had laughed at them. "What, don't got any of them in your world?" They shook their heads. Hagrid walked up to the thing and pulled on a sort of lever, and a portion of the side opened up, revealing a comfy-looking bench. "Get'in, the lot of you!" Not wanting to disobey him, they scampered into the thing, and he shut the door on them. He opened up the door on the right side for himself, sitting in front of a sort of wheel and mass of buttons in a much larger space than the rest of the interior.

He looked back to them, motioning to the contraptions that held a strip of fabric – three of them in total – to pull them across their bodies to another contraption that would hold it. When they clicked, the shinobi were confused as to why they had to in the first place.

"It's gonna be a bumpy ride!" Once he did the same for himself – a feat, seeing how huge he was – he had taken off without any warning, the car coming to life, rearing forward like a wild horse and suddenly they were jerked into the air.

It was then that the screaming started, and continued, for a while.

"I'm not allowed to use magic 'nymore, so I could'nt 've did what Professor Dumbledore did. 'n the way I usually travel, you all wouldn't 've been able to fit. Arthur Weasley – oh, you'll meet his kids I'm sure – did this to 'is own car, so the Professor ask'd 'im to do the same." Hagrid rambled on once the screaming subsided, possibly glad that he could finally get a word in.

Sakura still clutched to the girl next to her, trying to steady her breathing. "So these…cars…don't usually fly?"

"Nope! But it's faster to fly, 'nd these muggles prob'lly aren't used to seein' someone my size drivn' a car with three odd-lookin' kids in the back!"

"M-muggles?"

"Non-magic folk. They don't know we exist, 'cept for muggle-borns. Witches and wizards who aren't born 'round magic and suddenly their letter to Hogwarts when they're old 'nough."

The three shinobi digested this information, hoping that it would prove to be of some help in their stay; it might help them blend in when their physical features would only attract attention.

"Now, what else is there to know about wizarding blood?"

* * *

Hagrid was all too easy to convince to let them 'oo' and 'ah' over the castle. They were late to Dumbledore's office by a few hours, much to Hinata's protests. She, like her own sensei, was not impressed by lateness – especially by the standards of one Hatake Kakashi and his two misfits as Sai never really adapted to it – and was constantly checking the time.

When they finally arrived, Dumbledore greeted them as if they were right on time. His office was spectacular; it was circular, with many _floating_ objects hanging in the air, and moving pictures like there were all over the castle – except the only one who was awake looked exactly like Dumbledore while the others appeared to be sleeping. It was odd to say the least, but still very interesting.

"I trust you enjoyed your look around?" Hagrid looked away guiltily, while Hinata gave them a pointed look, a mental _I told you so_.

Naruto wasn't fazed, however, and grinned at the old man. "Yeah, this place is _huge_!"

Dumbledore let out a laugh, before standing up from his seat and making his way towards them. "Now, before I answer questions and introduce you to your professors, we must go get your wands." He held out his arm again, and the three exchanged looks – silently agreeing that this was much better than the 'flying car' – and placed their hands on his outstretched arm.

* * *

Milan, Italy; that's where Dumbledore said they were. They appeared in front of a run-down shack, with a single light flickering inside. He rapped on the door three times, and a creak inside was heard. "What? Who is it?"

The old wizard gave a withering smile. "Albus Dumbledore,"

The door was thrown open, and an unusually short and thin man stood in the door frame. If his hair wasn't thinning, nose long, and ears pointed, he could've passed for a child. "It's been too long, Professor," He held out a trembling hand, which Dumbledore clasped and shook gently. "What brings you here?"

Dumbledore stepped aside, gesturing to the three behind him. The small man jumped, pressing a hand to his chest, before looking up at Dumbledore with wide eyes. "Do you mean…?" At Dumbledore's nod, he jumped in joy, emitting a sound that reminded Sakura of Ino. He then ran inside his little hut.

Dumbledore stood aside, outstretching his hand to gesture them to follow the odd man.

Naruto blinked a few times before going in first, with Hinata behind him clutching his arm, and Sakura behind her, going slow and taking her time to study everything in his 'house'.

Everything was either rotting or extremely dirty, aside from a small chair that sat by the fire that had its original upholstery peeking through the dirt.

The man scampered into the main room from the only other door in the place, holding a reddish-brown velvet bag, the only expensive thing he seemed to own. The three shinobi just looked at him warily as he kept waving the bag in front of their faces. Dumbledore placed his hand on Naruto and Sakura's shoulders.

"Put your hand in the bag, but don't grab anything. Wait for the wand to come to you." The man stood in front of Naruto expectantly, eyes wide with glee.

The blonde put his hand in the bag, an odd look on his face. When he retracted his arm, the old man snatched it out of his hand and examined it for a minute. "Yew with the core of a phoenix, twelve and a quarter inches, rigid," He handed it back to Naruto, then turned towards Dumbledore with a smile. "Yew. He must be a very special wizard." Dumbledore returned the smile and gave him a slight nod.

He then stepped to Hinata, who squeaked. Gingerly, she placed her hand inside and let out a small yelp when the wand collided with her hand. Like with Naruto, the man grabbed the wand. "Larch with the core of a phoenix, twelve and a quarter inches, quite flexible." He handed it back to her with a gentle smile. "Know that you have much more potential than you realize, lass." She flushed.

Lastly, he went to Sakura who eagerly placed her hand in the bag and retracted her arm once a wand flew to her hand. She let the man take the wand from her. "Walnut with the core of a unicorn, ten inches, unbending." A warm smile made its way to his eyes as he clasped her hands in his unnatural ones. "I always enjoy meeting a witch or wizard of sufficient knowledge for a walnut wand." Once she received her wand back, he retreated into the room once more and Dumbledore fiddled around in his pockets, pulling out the necessary fee.

When the man came back, he went to hold up his hands to tell Dumbledore he didn't need to pay, but the Headmaster clasped his hands. "Every excellent wand-maker deserves payment for his work." The man's eyes glossed over with unshed tears, and he wrapped his spindly arms around Dumbledore in an awkward hug.

* * *

They returned to Dumbledore's office soon after, a million questions on their tongues.

But Naruto was a little less restrained. "What _was_ he?"

Dumbledore threaded his fingers together, his hands on his desk. "I mentioned the wand-maker Ollivander to you, correct?" Sakura nodded. "He was his apprentice, and was quite good. Until a rivaling maker tried to turn Ollivander into a goblin, but he took the spell instead. And one cannot be _turned_ into a full goblin, so he is a mix, and because so, he has been shunned."

Before anything else could be asked, a tall, pale-skinned man with a hooked nose and black hair stepped into Dumbledore's office, a sour look on his face. Even Dumbledore seemed to be taken aback.

"Severus, what seems to be-"

"Children?" The man sneered. "They sent us _children_? Sure, they'd pass as students, but are they seriously capable of anything?" Hinata looked to her feet nervously, shifting in her spot. Naruto narrowed his eyes at him.

Before Dumbledore could speak, Sakura stepped forward, almost shaking. Sure, when she was younger she was used to this treatment, but it _killed_ her that even after all she'd been through, what they've _all_ been through, they were being questioned on their skills.

"We are _younger_ than you would like because we not only start training in the academy when we are _six_, but we always, _always_, face the chance of death, no matter how powerful we are, so the best shinobi do sometimes die young. But I can assure you, sir, that even though we are young in age and appearance, we are probably three of the most deadliest predators in this _world_ right now. We've all killed. While you wizards might have some fancy incapacitating spells, it is common to kill a person _with your bare hands_, weapons, or even with something that is akin to your spells. We've all had life-threatening battles, watching our comrades die besides us as we bleed out, fighting for your lives, something you and your students couldn't possibly even _dream_ about. We are also trained in stealth, because if the enemy can sense you and you are unprepared, you're most likely _dead_. We fight, we kill, we protect our allies every day of our lives, so if you would still like to think that we are simply _just kids_, I will _gladly_ show you otherwise. _Your_ health and safety, sir, are _not_ in our job description, so I, quite frankly, won't get reprimanded if anything bad happens to you."

He was quite speechless, and whatever color was left in his face had drained. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Naruto had to suppress his laughter because, for once, her anger wasn't directed at him. And plus, that guy got what he deserved.

Hinata couldn't help but flush at the indirect comment she was given. She never used to have praise directed at her, and being called a 'deadly predator' by _Sakura_ made her feel increasingly better.

Dumbledore cleared his throat. "Now, since you cannot threaten every one of your teachers – though who am I to stop you? – later today once all of the teachers have arrived, you will show us an overview of your skills in the Forbidden Forest, before I release you once more. This way, I get a gist as to what you can do in case your skills are needed, but you can show us only what you want us to know, we will respect your privacy and your rules." Sakura smirked at the fact that she wasn't reprimanded, and Naruto's eyes lit up at the idea of being able to showcase his abilities.

"Um, w-what classes will we be t-taking?" Hinata asked, looking at her feet.

Dumbledore seemed to just remember this. "We'll decide this after you show us your abilities, as you might already be able to do something that is similar to what is taught in a class."

* * *

A woman named Madam Pomfrey was fretting over the children, not wanting any of them to get hurt.

"Don't worry about it, lady! If anything happens, Sakura-chan's a medic and can handle it!" The woman gave him and Sakura a weird look, but then stepped aside.

"So, we're doing a three-way mock battle?" Sakura slid her gloves on, smirking in a way that Hinata didn't deem sane.

"D-Did you want to s-say our abilities f-first?" Hinata cut in, simply feeling uneasy at potentially harming either of them.

Sakura nodded. "Good point." She turned on her heel towards them all, putting her hands on her hips. "I have what you would call super-strength and I'm the best medic in my world, and I'm also excellent with poison." She turned to Snape. "And because of this, I know what systems and muscles to target, and can not only kill a person from the inside out, but I will never leave a trace." She gave him a dazzling smile, Naruto choking on laughter in the background.

Hinata brushed a piece of hair behind her ear. "I am a tracker, and can see not only farther than a normal person, but I can see 360 degrees around me without turning my head." It was best not to tell them the Byakugan's weakness, after all. She noticed Sakura beside her, telling her to continue. "I can see everyone's pressure points and attack them, as well as all the vital organs, destroying them from the inside out." She noticed a few of the Professors take a step back from the 'demonic' children, as one of them whispered.

When it was finally Naruto's turn, he gave them a large grin. "And I can't really tell you what I can do, just know that I kick ass!" Many of them didn't really know exactly how to react, and Dumbledore only smiled at them.

"I can't believe these are who we are stuck with," Snape commented, eyes narrowing at the trio.

McGonagall straightened the hat that rested on her head. "I don't see anything wrong with them, other than possible discipline issues." Sure, she really didn't have any reason to slyly bicker with Severus, but even though she wholly trusted him because Dumbledore did, his cold attitude wasn't really something that she could deal with.

She and Snape exchanged glances before turning back to the shinobi.

Naruto had already made shadow clones, which surrounded Sakura and Hinata. The pinkette turned to the professors and winked. "You might want to back away," Just as they did so, Sakura appeared above the real Naruto, her heel high in the air.

While Naruto quickly got out of the way and Hinata was already out of sight – and the professors were baffled at their speed, as they could only see blurs at this point – Sakura's heel slammed into the ground. The ground collapsed in itself, and the crater seemed to stop before it reached the professors on one side, while the rest of the force was focused on the other side thanks to Sakura's manipulation.

The three continued to fight in the crater so the professors could see, and they visibly slowed down their movements so they would know that this wasn't their limit.

Hinata's Byakugan was already activated and she was battling against Sakura's chakra scalpel and Naruto's windmill shuriken with her gentle fist.

While the majority of the professors were shell-shocked as to what they could do, Dumbledore just clasped his hands – his blackened hand covered by an intricate white glove – behind his back, a content smile on his face.

Yes, these three will do.

* * *

_Notes: I hope you all enjoyed it! I made it a bit longer because I felt so bad that I haven't updated in forever, and I apologize about the crappy sparring. I'm terrible with anyone but Sakura's techniques XD_

_**Anyway! Back to what I said before! **__I'm not sure if anyone has a tumblr or not, but I've created one aside from my personal one that focuses on this story (as well as more of my fics that haven't been published yet, as this fic is my only current one that I enjoy anymore) as well as other information, excerpts, sneak peeks, and general Harry Potter and Naruto stuff that I want to reblog._

_This way, I could probably keep up my interest in this story and update more frequently, as well as have interaction with you guys so I could get a constant butt-kicking to write more. And! For extras such as how Dumbledore stumbled upon the shinobi nations and other connections for this story (and its' sequel once the time comes) that don't fit in this story will be featured as well, as my favorite part of crossover stories is meshing things together. And I'll also put the full meaning of their wand woods/cores up once I've published this!_

_As for the blog itself, I started it a while ago but then stopped when I had a long pause in writing this (though I reblogged some Naruto-related things a month-ish ago). Also, if you ask me to, I will follow your blog and put it in my follow list on my blog so others can see it as well. Now, enough of me talking, the link is: .com_


	6. Six Minutes and Counting

_A/N: Hey guys! I just wanted to say thanks for all the reviews! I greatly appreciate them! :3 And I'm not sure if I already addressed this, but I'll be blending elements of both the movies and the books together, especially if I can't remember a certain aspect of the book, I'll usually just use the movie version of it (since I can ask my friends who've only seen the movies, while none of my friends have read the books)._

_Also, I'm already starting to run out of chapter titles -_- If anyone could come up with some for any future chapters, I will definitely give you credit in the chapter (:_

_The Peeves bit – and more to come on that – was suggested by princessbinas._

**Unknown Hero**

_Six Minutes and Counting_

It took a few minutes for Dumbledore to return the portion of the forest to how it had been before, something the shinobi watched eagerly. It was odd to see something that wasn't used as offence, defense, or even healing. It was supplementary, for everyday use. And it looked awesome.

They had been escorted back to Dumbledore's office alongside McGonagall, as Snape was nowhere to be found. Sakura saw it as personal triumph.

"Now," Dumbledore sat at his desk, McGonagall standing beside the shinobi, "Professor McGonagall will show you around the castle, particularly where Mister Malfoy will be, such as his classes and the Slytherin dormitories. You all can decide on how to monitor him. Then you will return here for further instructions." He leaned forward. "Today will not be as relaxing as yesterday."

Sakura smiled. "We wouldn't have it any other way."

* * *

Traps would be the easiest thing. And since they were chakra traps, the wizards wouldn't be able to sense them.

These traps, however, were more of an alert system to the shinobi so they could know when a target passes through a certain area. It required knowledge of the person's chakra and a personal item that contains a trace of them. It was actually an invention of Hinata's.

McGonagall produced an old cloak of Draco's and since he didn't have chakra, that part could be skipped over. Hinata taught them the basics of this, and soon there were small alarm systems throughout the castle. They were ingrained with a bit of each of their chakra, letting them feel when an area was passed through. Sakura and Naruto didn't really understand how one _felt _it, but shrugged it off as a Hyuuga thing.

The Slytherin common room held a slightly more complex system. It amplified the sound of the target if one was close enough. All they had to do was once the alarm went off cling to the ceiling and out of site to be able to hear what he said.

"That is very…interesting." McGonagall remarked after Hinata quietly explained how it worked. The violet-haired girl became nervous, quickly turning around and busying herself with another trap.

"When will it wear off?"

"It will only wear off if we run out of chakra, or, err, energy. Or we disable it ourselves." Naruto grinned.

McGonagall pursed her thin lips together. "Very interesting. I guess you three were a good investment."

They beamed.

* * *

School started soon. One week, two days to be exact. Not that he was counting down of course…more like dreading.

His arm itched, and sometimes burned, but not as much anymore. He'd gotten used to it. However, his mother's constant fretting did nothing to make him forget about it.

Pale eyes flicked to the stack of pale pink unopened letters on his desk. They were all from Pansy, and he'd accumulated them throughout the summer. He began reading the first few, and then stopped once _it_ had been decided.

He couldn't involve himself in frivolous matters such as his joke of a 'relationship' with Pansy, or even his 'friends', Blaise, Crabbe, and Goyle. He was something better than them now, he was in a class all his own now. Sure, he was still below the others – he was new, after all – but in Hogwarts, he was above all those rats.

Still, he didn't want to go back there. Not with the task he'd been given.

Kill Dumbledore.

He could do it, couldn't he? It could be easy. The old man would never expect it. He was _chosen_ for this task, by the Dark Lord himself.

That meant he could do it. He had to.

Just because he could didn't mean he particularly wanted to.

A growl escaped his lips and he held his head in his hands. As if on cue, his mother was at his door.

"Draco? Is everything alright?"

"Yes. I'm fine." His reply came clipped, and he held his scowl until he could hear the clicking of her heels walking away.

Was he fine?

He didn't know anymore.

One week, two days.

The clock was ticking down, _fast_, and he couldn't stop it.

He rose to his feet and brushed stray locks from his eyes. He needed a change of scenery, and even though they had went to Diagon Alley a few weeks ago – and bumped into _Potter_ – he could convince his mother to make another trip.

In the remaining one week and two days, he could dabble more into potions. He could gain more confidence, even though he didn't really need it. He could do it.

He could – and will – kill Professor Dumbledore.

* * *

"Excellent," Dumbledore remarked once the trio returned to his office, "now, you three will arrive alongside the other students next week. In the meantime, you will be staying at the hotel you were in last night. You will also receive directions to Draco's house, so you can monitor his movements, or whatever you three wish to do. When the time comes for you to attend school, Hagrid will come and escort you to King's Cross train station-" The three were silently relieved, as they knew what a train was "-where you and the other students will travel to the school, and you three will follow Professor McGonagall, along with the First Years, to be sorted."

He gave them a faint smile. "Any questions?"

"So this 'sorting' thing. Is this random? Can I go to a different one if-"

Dumbledore cut Naruto off, shaking his head. "The Sorting Hat decides the best house depending on your personality, and you yourself cannot choose or change. However, if you feel strongly towards a certain house, the hat will take that into consideration."

Naruto's brows shot up. "This is a _hat_ we're talking about?!" Sakura cleared her throat, sending a glare his way. The blonde gulped and took a step back.

Amused, Dumbledore couldn't help but chuckle. It lasted for only a second, and then he handed them a scroll with, upon inspection, badly written kanji inside. But it seemed legible.

"If that's all, then I will see you three next week." They were gone in a cloud of smoke.

McGonagall let out a sigh, sitting at a chair beside Dumbledore's desk.

"They sure are a vivacious bunch. The boy is terrified of ghosts, though, and Peeves gave him constant trouble." She rambled, massaging her temples.

"I wonder who will cause the biggest stir," Minerva raised a brow.

"Pardon?"

"There are three Japanese 'exchange' students entering the school, and it has been undeniably confirmed that Lord Voldemort has returned, and Harry and his friends have told the truth. I'm…curious as to which the students will react to the most."

A thin smile stretched across the aged witch's lips. "I didn't know this was entertaining to you,"

"Well, one must find entertainment in anything at this old age, which you'll experience soon enough."

Minerva laughed.

* * *

They received the same rooms as before, and were to be served three meals a day, and more food would be provided upon their asking. While more than enough money was given to the inn keeper, Dumbledore would most likely have to pay extra.

After all, he did not account for Naruto's stomach.

While ramen was not on the menu, there was another form of noodles – spaghetti, it was called – that had a red sauce, or could be made with just butter.

Naruto lived off of this spaghetti and the bread that came with it. While Sakura was disgusted – even though her addiction was chocolate – Hinata indulged it and would often eat alongside him.

It had been three days since they left the castle. In those three days, nothing had happened. Draco never moved from his house _once_. The only two other presences that were there were his mother and his aunt – who was associated with Voldemort – and she would only be there on occasion.

It was odd.

When Naruto was scarfing down his third plate of the noodles for breakfast, they felt the alarms go off. _Shit!_

The alarms weren't able to tell them where he'd gone, they could only deduce it if they were physically there.

Sakura's angry growl was cut short when a feral grin spread across her lips. When Naruto was about to question her sanity, Hinata's own eyes widened. "Here's here! In that alley!"

They quickly slipped out of the inn, forgoing their disguises. It would be best to befriend the boy, and that meant they needed to exploit every opportunity they had for it. Even just a quick "I saw you a few days ago! Can you show me around?" would be helpful in their situation, and possibly they would get somewhere with their "exchange student" status.

Him and who they assumed to be his mother were lurking among the shadows, making an effort to not be seen.

While he didn't want to be seen, the shinobi were the complete opposite. And it wasn't hard initially, as they were the only ones not dressed in black cloaks, and their different colored hair was also a giveaway.

And they had Naruto.

"WHOA!" Naruto ran around screaming in the windows, "look at this frog, Sakura-chan! They don't have this in Japan!" Draco's head tilted in their direction.

Bingo.

From a prestigious family herself, Hinata suggested that they somehow got it across that they were in fact from a different country, as those of high class – or those who believed they were – enjoyed entertaining foreigners, as a show of how wonderful they were.

And she guessed that those traditions ran through Draco's blood as well.

They decided to split up, as if Draco ran into one of them it would look like a coincidence instead of them following him.

Hinata headed straight for the book store, Naruto fled into the animal shop – as it was proper to do, seeing as he just made a scene about the frogs – , and Sakura went into the apothecary. After all, she could use some of it for healing.

As it worked out, Draco's first stop was the book store.

Hinata was nose-deep in a book when he slithered in, pale eyes staring straight at her. She made it obvious that she noticed by the way she jumped and continued to read, as she remembered from her younger days. Draco shrugged her off, heading for a different aisle.

She activated her Byakugan and saw and memorized every book he even glanced at, and especially the ones in which his gaze lingered on.

"I thought we already bought the book you needed," His mother's cold, amplified voice rang in Hinata's ear, and she was silently thankful that Kiba had trained her and Shino how to amplify their senses much more than any ordinary jutsu allowed.

"It's a request from Snape," His voice was unsurprisingly distant, but it also held an air of hesitation. Not that his mother seemed to notice.

"Oh. But I thought he wasn't-"

"He's not. But he's better than the old buffoon that'll be there, and this is what he recommended." Hinata could _feel_ the rigid stance of his mother at him cutting her off, but she did not address it. Instead, she placed a hand on his shoulder as he led her to the counter with his purchases.

All about potions.

* * *

To say Sakura was having fun was an understatement. With every jar, every vial she held, she could sense with her chakra the most prominent properties and their most practical uses. And she was thrilled with the new poisons she discovered. Even if there was a medic better than her, _no one_ could figure out an antidote to a poison that didn't exist in their world. It was genius!

She was so wrapped up that she didn't even notice her target behind her.

"Could you move once you're done being a giddy idiot?"

Green eyes narrowed into slits as she turned on her heel to face the offender, and she tried not to falter once she saw Draco standing behind her.

"Is that _any_ way to talk to a lady?" His brow rose for a second in surprise, before his face fell again and he snorted.

"Whatever,"

She tapped her uneven nails on the vial she was holding. He did _not_ just blow her off! In revenge, she snuck up behind him in a different aisle and, using a mellow wind jutsu derived from one of Hinata's, she made a small vacuum of air to bring the jar Draco was trying to reach down into her palm.

He turned to her wide-eyed.

"How did you do that?" He nearly hissed, not too impressed at her actions at getting the _last_ jar of what he needed.

She smirked. "Secret," And she then skipped to the counter.

Whatever was in this jar, she didn't need it for herself in the first place. It had no healing possibilities, and nothing could be extracted for a poison. But if he wanted it, especially since it was the only thing he needed by the way he stormed out of the store, they would just have to figure out what it was and _why_ it was important.

Plus, his reaction reminded her a bit of Ino. The female blonde never got truly angry at her, but they had their fair share of fake fights in which they would insult each other and fight without any chakra in the middle of the street.

While they always ended up getting hurt, it was always in good spirits.

And even though her little spat with Draco just now held no comparison, it gave her hope that there was someone who could give her a little reminder of home. And it would either cause them to grow close or have him detest the weird pink haired girl, but that was fine. Either way, she could gain information, whether in the guise of friendship or as an enemy.

As she walked out of the shop with her purchases, she couldn't help but smile.

It was going to be an interesting year.


	7. All Seven

_A/N: Hi everyone! Hopefully these updates will be a weekly – at least – occurrence. (:_

_I'd like to give a big thanks to everyone who has commented, favorited, and followed this story! You guys are the best!_

_The sorting is set for the NEXT chapter! :D Then, the pairing poll will be put back up!_

_Also, I was asked to write out how Dumbledore stumbled upon the shinobi nations on my writing tumblr, so once I write it, I will put the link up in my profile and, of course, alert you guys here!_

_Lastly, I'm still running out of chapter title ideas XD_

**Unknown Hero**

_All Seven_

"Have you heard?" He looked up at the soft voice. Mouse brown eyes stared back at him expectantly. "Well?"

"Heard what?" She groaned.

"About the exchange students!" Green eyes widened.

"Exchange students?!"

"Yes, didn't you hear Mr. Weasley at dinner?" She took his silence as a no. "Well, Dumbledore informed the ministry about three exchange students coming to Hogwarts."

"Weird, isn't it?" A third chimed in, settling himself down on a chair. "After all that happened. Couldn't he just say no?"

"It might be a set-up by the country they're from." She was always the voice of reason. "With all that's been happening, they might want to see the situation for themselves. And what closer way to be near both Harry and Dumbledore than by infiltrating Hogwarts?"

"But Dumbledore might've already thought of this." Harry leaned forward. "He must know what he's doing."

Hermione pressed her lips together, sitting up straighter. "Of course. It's just…I'm already worried about the year as it is. Three students coming in _this_ year is very suspicious."

"I trust Dumbledore on this one." Harry concluded, giving his best friends a serious look. "He knows what he's doing."

Hermione sighed. Ron rubbed his hands together, glancing to the side. If Harry was this insistent, then there was no use in convincing him otherwise.

* * *

Draco had also stopped in the pet store on that day one week and a day ago. He'd bought a rat, but from his expression Naruto could tell it wasn't as a pet.

And since then, he stayed in his home. He was doing a lot of reading, which was surprising given what they knew of him. He also seemed to be _brewing_ something…in a _cauldron_.

"These people take the stereotype way too seriously…" Naruto had muttered.

Their mission aside, school began tomorrow. They memorized the layout of the castle, the teachers, and even the history of the current events.

It was also useful that they were able to create the spells. For most spells, they were able to mold a bit of chakra into the wand and it would act as actual magic, seamlessly creating spells.

More complicated spells, however, wouldn't work. Thankfully, there weren't many in the curriculum and even a few were mimic the spells with jutsu – no one would notice the difference.

During their "study session", Naruto loudly complained about his hunger before nearly running down the stairs to the innkeeper Tom for more food.

White eyes blinked. "I'm n-nervous, Sakura-ch-chan…"

She rested her hand on the girl's shoulder. "It'll be fine, Hinata-chan. You'll be fine. And you'll have us. Naruto and I will always be at your side."

Hinata smiled gratefully. "S-Same for you, S-Sakura-chan. You're not a-alone."

Sakura lightly flushed, wondering if the kunoichi could read her mind. She pulled the seemingly fragile girl into her arms, a sign that even though they were never particularly close – it was always Sakura and Ino, and Hinata and Tenten –, they were there for each other.

* * *

Tsunade was not happy. She was not happy at all.

And the source of her irritation was standing on the other side of her desk, daintily smiling at her.

"It's for your own good, Tsunade-sama."

"My own good _my ass Shizune_! I want my sake and I want it _now_!"

"Childish, aren't we, Tsunade?" Her fist was aimed directly behind her, where Jiraiya managed to sneak up on her.

"Unless you have anything useful, get out!" A lazy smile stretched across his lips.

"I do, actually. Good news." Shizune took the opportunity to sneak out. "They agreed-"

The door was opened without a proper knock, and it seemed the temperature dropped ten degrees.

"Danzou." She hissed through gritted teeth. Jiraiya couldn't help the scowl.

"Tsunade-hime," Danzou nearly spat, "we need to talk."

She jerked her head towards Jiraiya. "As you can see, I'm busy. As the _Hokage_, conversing with shinobi is important and as this meeting was pre-arranged, you happen to be intruding." Her words were both scathing and cool. She was hard-pressed to show restrain around that man, so it was her happy medium aside from not saying anything.

Plus, she couldn't restrain herself from making the comment about her rank. It was obvious that was his aim, so she felt that is was her obligation to remind him that it was _hers_, not his.

After a few moments of him sizing her up, he turned to leave. "Of course, Tsunade-hime." And then he left.

She didn't care if he heard the growl that escaped her lips.

* * *

Hagrid was, once again, at their door. They only had a few weapons on them this time, as they somewhat recognized his heavy footsteps.

"Rise 'n shine!" He grinned at them. He went to grab their luggage, but his eyes widened when he didn't see any. "Where are yer things?"

Naruto held up his small pack, taking out a scroll. "It's all in these," He paused, "Well, besides the animals."

Hagrid's brow raised, but then brushed it off. After all, they seemed to come from an entirely different world, and he couldn't imagine how weird everything must be for them.

So, he simply jingled the keys with a sly grin. "That'll fit 'n the car then!" They collectively groaned.

* * *

It must have been an odd sight to the muggles, as Harry's own eyes were wide.

He immediately believed that Hermione's previous claims were false, as what country in their right mind would send three students – one with face tattoos, one with _bright pink_ hair, and one with white eyes – to gather information.

They just arrived to the platform a few moments ago and all eyes were trained on them!

The only normal thing about them was their attire. Ignoring their features, they would fit in perfectly.

The boy – the one with the facial tattoos – had his…orange frog atop his head. And it wasn't a normal looking frog. It had strange markings on its back weaved in with unnatural colors on its skin. He spoke to it as if it could understand what he was saying, and he was expertly unfazed by all the stares.

The two girls were rolling their eyes behind him, the one with the pink hair pushing their cart, which consisted of only the animal cages.

He'd never seen an owl as big as the one that they had. It was dark with lighter specks throughout its feathers, and it more than half the height of the shortest of them – again, the pink haired one.

The cat that snoozed in the cage was another oddity. Its coat was snow white and its eyes were a piercing lavender. Was that even possible?

A smaller, normal owl was also caged along with their belongings, and he could _hear_ Hermione's glare.

"Do they _not_ know that there's only animal per person?" She nearly hissed.

"Calm down. They probably get special treatment or something." Ron shrugged. The comment only set Hermione off even more, causing her to huff and turn away.

They had only looked away from the odd trio for a second and when Harry turned to gawk at them again, they were gone.

* * *

They were one of the first on the train, and they didn't move until the train did. Until then, they set up the walls to be sound-proof and monitored where Draco was on the train with Hinata's Byakugan.

"The one watching us was…Harry, right?" Sakura nodded.

"Yup, and it would also be beneficial to be-friend him. He's the one Voldemort is after, and has always been Draco's enemy. Hopefully one of us will end up in one of their houses."

They were about to discuss how to listen in to Draco's conversations when the compartment door suddenly slid open. A red faced, considerably pale girl clumsily stepped in.

"I'm supposed to deliver these to-" She began to try to pronounce their names, but as she started to butcher them, Sakura thrusted her hand into the girl's face. The girl nearly tossed the three scrolls in the air before running out of the compartment. Sakura handed Naruto's and Hinata's to them before unraveling her own.

_Miss Sakura Haruno,_

_I would be delighted if you would join me for a bite of lunch in compartment C._

_Sincerely,_

_Professor H. E. F. Slughorn_

Hinata's eyes widened, a light flush covering her cheeks. Sakura cursed.

"How are we supposed to monitor Draco when a _Professor_ is making us eat lunch with him? And I don't even remember him being at Hogwarts last week!" She was almost disturbed at Naruto's grin.

He dispelled his previous summon – hidden by a standing Hinata – and summoned a much smaller and camouflaged frog. Once Hinata told the frog how to get to Draco's compartment and the instructions, the tiny thing scampered off once they opened their compartment door to visit Professor Slughorn.

* * *

Harry being there was the first thing they noticed, follow by how small the compartment seemed due to the large belly of the professor. They seemed to be the last to arrive, as there were no more seats.

Slughorn seemed to be able to hardly contain himself at the sight of them. "Welcome, welcome you three! You must be the exchange students!"

Putting on her best smile – which was thoroughly practiced through being Tsunade's apprentice and dealing with foreign leaders – Sakura folded her hands in front of her.

"Yes, sir, that's us."

His smile recoiled for a moment, as if a thought had crossed him. "Oh my, I just realized that you wouldn't know _anybody_ that I invited! Well, I'll do some introductions." He began gesturing around the room, and everyone but a tall, dark boy nodded to them in greeting as a way to study their odd features.

Hinata tried not to flush at the attention.

Slughorn seemed most pleased when the circle of introductions ended at Harry, and the gleam in his eyes was palpable.

"Now, you three _must_ have heard of Harry Potter!"

Naruto sheepishly grinned. "No, sir, I can't say we have."

He could've sworn Slughorn had a heart attack. "No, you say? Well, we'll go over his accomplishments in a moment, once I've properly talked to everyone. But now! I do not wish to speak for you three, so, if you mind, could you three introduce yourselves?"

"Naruto Uzumaki, at you serv-"

"Sakura Haruno," She cut him off with a pointed look.

"H-Hinata Hyuuga…"

He clasped his hands together with a wide smile, and immediately turned his gaze away and began rattling on to the other guests. The first, a boy named Marcus Belby, was offered something called pheasant, began choking on, and once he answered Slughorn's question, the professor quickly went to the next student.

He followed this pattern, the three shinobi barely listening to what was happening. Until he cleared his throat and addressed them. "Now, I'm still surprised to hear that the incredible fame of this boy hasn't reached every corner of the wizarding world!" The dark boy, Blaise, rolled his eyes. His next words were directed at Harry himself, and only Hinata was truly listening.

Suddenly, his attention was now on them.

"When I asked to come back to Hogwarts this year, I didn't know there would exchange students! I've never even heard of such a thing! Where are you from?"

Sakura tucked a lock of pink behind her ear. "We're from Japan, and we go to Hiruzen Sarutobi Academy. We're very closed-off from other wizarding schools, and I guess you could say our methods and magic means are more…barbaric. Instead of relying on wands, we use weapons. And because we're the only school that does, we're sent to learn different methods to bring them over either next year or, if we stay here next year as well, we'll go back as professors to teach both students and staff what we've learned here." She had almost forgotten the last part, but she regurgitated Dumbledore's words if she did say so herself.

Once she was done, she allowed herself to notice everyone's expressions, as she had been so focused on the words themselves. Everyone, including Blaise, had wide eyes.

Slughorn eventually stopped questioning them all, and instead began rattling off tales of past students of his and how _famous_ they all were.

That's when it clicked. Slughorn was attracted to the elite wizards, ones that would go places. They were chosen because they were the shiny new toys, the unknown.

If they wanted to stay – and have an excuse to be near Harry – they would need to continue to pretend to be elite, to please Slughorn.

After all, they wanted to cover all of the bases when it came to gathering information on Draco. And what way to gain access to unfavorable information than by befriending his enemy?


	8. The Eighth Light

_A/N: The poll results are in! 15 votes for Gryffindor, 10 for Ravenclaw, 5 for Slytherin, and 1 for Hufflepuff! Thanks to everyone who voted! Now, we'll see who was right (;_

_This also means that the pairing poll will be back up in a few chapters! Now, I'm still very unsure of who will be endgame, but both will still have many moments. The sequel (still deciding on a name) however will most likely be simply just the main pairing, whichever it turns out to be. So, there are two similar paths the sequel can take, and it all depends on the pairing (: But the sequel won't be coming for a while! I just like to get ahead of myself XD_

_The new poll, which should only be read and voted in AFTER reading the chapter, will only last at MOST three chapters, but it will probably only be two chapters. Then the pairing poll will officially be back!_

_Lastly, thanks to all those that followed the tumblr! And if you haven't, it's a nice source of update information, (it will have) excerpts, and random Naruto bits (:_

**Unknown Hero**

_The Eighth Light_

It took a while, but they were finally released from Slughorn's presence. Purposefully, they went the wrong way and 'accidentally' opened the door to the large compartment where the sixth year Slytherins – and, in turn, Draco – were lurking.

They wouldn't collect the frog until later, to prevent loss of information, but they aimed to scope it out for themselves.

Hinata, who was at the front, flushed a bit at the 'mistake'. "I'm s-sorry, w-wrong compartment…"

They were about to turn around before a girl sneered. "Losers,"

Naruto and Sakura snapped their heads up to the voice. "Naruto, are we able to injure them?"

He snorted. "Who cares?" They both went to raise their wands when a hand gripped Naruto's shoulder.

"They're not worth getting into trouble," And there stood one Harry Potter. The girl with the squashed-in looking face narrowed her eyes.

"Potter, why don't-"

"Don't address him, Pansy." Draco, whose head was in her lap, ordered, and the girl shut right up. Hinata's eyebrows shot up at the way she was being treated. Sure, she couldn't be the brightest one to be following his orders…but still. It was rude. And quite frankly, Hinata _hated_ rude people.

The corner of Sakura's lips curled. "Don't worry, Harry. We're not stupid enough to anything like that out in the open." She gave both the girl and Draco a smug smirk – making sure to tilt her head up so she could look down on them, which was both a feat for her height and it was meant to be a challenge – and left.

* * *

Blaise didn't even pay attention to the scene before him. While he didn't particularly care for the three exchange students – to be fair, he didn't care for anyone – his distaste kicked in when Potter came in. Really, did he always feel the need to butt in?

Pansy's voice was grating on his nerves, and he shot her a glare. He could care less about that girl.

And when the door to the compartment slammed shut – curious, he hadn't even seen Potter leave – Draco turned his attention to him as if nothing ever happened.

"So, Zabini, what did Slughorn want?" He could've snorted. Draco was similar to himself, never giving respect to anyone, even 'friends'.

"Just trying to make up to well-connected people, not that he managed to find many. He even invited those three." He jerked his head to the door. Draco sneered. Blaise could have laughed at the sight. Draco, to the others might've seemed to the his usual self, but Blaise knew.

Draco Malfoy was _jealous_.

Sure, they weren't the closest of all of Draco's acquaintances, but he knew how to read people. From all the interviews, questions, and speculations after all the _completely accidental_ (of course) deaths of his mother's lovers, he knew how to act and, in turn, could see behind other people's masks.

"Who else had he invited?"

Blaise then listed off the other few who had been invited, and was stopped after he mentioned Longbottom.

"He invited _Longbottom_?" His jealousy inflated, Blaise could practically _feel_ it.

"Well, I assume so, as Longbottom was there," He replied, successfully holding back a smirk. He brushed Longbottom's attendance off as it was nothing, but he knew that his indifference pissed Draco off even more. Even so much as Pansy was starting to notice, and she was sending a glare his way.

They discussed both Potter and the Weasley girl, until Draco burst up from Pansy's lap, as if remembering something. "The exchange students were they, you say?"

Blaise raised a brow. Well, mentally of course. "Yes,"

Draco looked at him expectantly. "Well, go on then, why were they there?"

"They're the shiny new toys, of course!" Pansy's high voice made Blaise cringe a little, and he simply waved off her explanation.

"The school they're from in Japan uses weapons instead of wands, so they're here to _learn_," Blaise sneered at the last part, finding the whole situation a bit ridiculous.

Draco's attention peaked. "Weapons, you say?"

* * *

Their return to their compartment was uneventful, if a first year fainting at the sight of them with Harry in front of the Slytherin compartment could be considered uneventful.

The boat journey to the castle, however, was a different story. Once getting off the train, Hagrid rounded up the first years, including the three now-eager shinobi. He laughed at the sight of them.

"We'll be travelin' much slower than before," He winked at them before leading them to the boats, and he turned away before he could see their relieved expressions. Another car ride was not on their to-do list.

Their boat was initially crowded, as the outgoing first years wanted a seat with the older-looking students with odd hair and eye colors and face tattoos. Hagrid even had to forcibly remove a particularly clingy girl with wild green eyes and red hair piled atop her head. Naruto was surprised by her grip on his arm as he frantically tried to shake her off for a good minute until Hagrid came to the rescue.

They were given two quiet students who thankfully didn't try to touch them.

Naruto was clinging to the front of the boat, his face entirely in a smile, eyes trained on the slowly appearing castle.

Even though they'd already been inside of it, they'd only seen a small part of the outside, and _definitely_ not by boat.

It was _gorgeous_. Sakura had never seen anything like it. Then again, she'd never really seen a castle before either as they were impractical in most climates and for shinobi in general. But still, she never thought she'd see anything like it.

She sent Hinata a look, and the Hyuuga made a face at her before moving a bit closer to Naruto. Sakura smiled.

Naruto turned around to Hinata and began to talk excitedly to her about the castle and how fun it would be to climb the wall and sit on the top of it, ultimately making her promise she'd go with him.

* * *

They walked behind the first year students to the grand staircase where they all waited to be called upon. Professor McGonagall had told them all to wait right outside the doors while the actual first years walked in and were sorted. She would return for them when it was their turn.

Gryffindor. Hufflepuff. Ravenclaw. Slytherin. One house they'd be sorted into and remain in for the remainder of their time at Hogwarts, even if it continued next year.

It reminded them of their Team selections after graduating the academy, although instead of missions it was simply who they were to live with.

They didn't really know how to feel about it.

Before long, Professor McGonagall slipped out of the side entrance to fetch them, and they followed her and her flowing robe into the 'Great Hall'.

* * *

"Before you all enjoy your feast, there is another sorting that needs to take place. This year, we welcome three Sixth Year exchange students from the Hiruzen Sarutobi Academy of Magic and Weaponry in Japan." Dumbledore looked out to the wide eyed crowd. It was comical. The word 'weaponry' seemed foreign to them, as the only weapon they've even known was their own wand. It made him think back to his own discovery of their world – the shinobi world…

Lost in his thoughts, he didn't realize Minerva had left and already returned with the students. He smiled, seeing Harry finally enter the Hall. "Now, let's get them sorted."

McGonagall stood beside the sorting hat, which the shinobi didn't fully understand. "Haruno, Sakura,"

Sakura made her way to the witch and the dirty hat, and cautiously sat on the stool. Professor McGonagall placed the hat on her head and Sakura nearly jumped.

"My dear, you are an odd one indeed." A voice had whispered in her ear. "You could easily fit into any house. However…your desire to stand out from your team even with no specialties like theirs and your constant desire points you to… Yet, not only do you seem to have strong desire to be in Slytherin, you-"

"Can you please make a decision already?" Sakura hissed, fingers curling into a fist, trying to get over her nerves. The hat chuckled in her ear.

"Better be…" He trailed off, before projecting his voice to everyone's ears.

"Ravenclaw!"

The house in question jumped to applause, presumably happy to have an exchange student. She sat at the very end, next to a sickly looking blonde boy with wide eyes, forcibly trying to look away from her hair.

"Hyuuga, Hinata," She followed and sat on the stool, immediately hearing the voice.

"You're very interesting, Miss Hyuuga. I see all the trials you've endured, your hard work and determination. I know your goal." She flushed.

"Outstanding qualities, really. You'll fit perfectly in…" She shut her eyes.

"Hufflepuff!" Their own table applauded, all happy faces grinning up at her. A boy a few seats down from her, who was obviously not a first year and most likely closer to her own year, leaned in over the first years to catch her attention.

"You have the prettiest eyes," She nearly fainted, but instead smiled at the compliment and thanked him. His friend rolled his eyes, but the boy defended that he was just being nice to the "pretty exchange student". She had to force her consciousness.

"Uzumaki, Naruto," Finally! He bounded up, eager, and oblivious to the trials his teammates were going through; Hinata with admirers, and Sakura with questions – both about her school and her hair.

"Like your friends, I could place you anywhere. However, two houses stand out for you. Deciding which is the hard part. You've grown so much, made a name for yourself…and you always put your comrades above yourself. You strive towards a position of power. As I dive deeper, you are undoubtedly…" His smile stretched from ear to ear.

"Gryffindor!"

He hopped up from his seat and sat right next to a nervous-looking first year who was glancing at both him and Harry Potter. Which was no surprise, given both Harry's reputation and Naruto's current status as an of exchange student.

Sakura scowled as she looked over her shoulder at the Slytherin table. So, none of them were close to Draco and in his house…they would just have to find another way in other than the traps they set.

Then food appeared seemingly out of thin air in front of them and she could practically hear Naruto's drooling. The rest of dinner passed by easily. Well, for Naruto. Ravenclaws were nearly tripping over themselves to talk to Sakura to ask her about the Academy and why they've never heard of it.

Hinata's admirer was named Ernie Macmillan, an outspoken blonde boy who was also a sixth year that truly meant no harm. He and his friends Justin and Hannah were very talkative and welcoming, even having her sit with them.

The only slight friend Sakura made was Luna Lovegood, a spacey girl who warded away the rest of the flock just by her presence. Sakura decided that she liked her for that.

The entire Gryffindor table now knew Naruto just by the sound of his voice, and the feast hadn't even reached dessert yet. He felt a slight pressure on his ankle, and he reached down to the frog to scratch the top of its head. Even though Naruto couldn't see it, it looked up to him and smiled. And then it was gone.

Dumbledore stood up, and instantly everyone became silent. "The very best of evenings to you!" All eyes seemed to zero in on his hand, including Sakura's, who didn't fully look into in when they met previously. Without a doubt, the appendage was dead, and it… Sakura narrowed her eyes, looking up at him and he seemed to be looking directly at her. "Nothing to worry about. Now to our new students, welcome, to our old students, welcome back!"

Admittedly, Naruto zoned out for a minute. He heard something about academics, that joke shop that they all visited where Hinata got that pink puff ball- "Those wishing to play for their House Quidditch teams should give their names to their Heads of House as usual. We are also looking for new Quidditch commentators, who should do likewise." That's when his interest perked up. Quidditch? Sure, he had no idea what it was, but it sounded like a sport, like what civilians would play instead of 'playing shinobi' like he and Konohamaru used to do.

If he remembered, Professor McGonagall – the old witch that constantly wore the stereotypical witch hat, like they were all wearing now – was the head of Gryffindor.

He caught the gazes of his teammates who seemed to be thinking similarly.

He had no idea what kind of sport it was, but it would be a great way to keep moving and hey, wasn't Draco on the Slytherin team or something? And Harry on his own?

He grinned. He was a genius!

"Professor Snape, meanwhile, will be taking over the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

"No!" Blue eyes widened when he heard Harry yell in protest. Naruto glanced between Harry and Professor Snape, the man that Sakura disliked. So, she wasn't the only one? Befriending him and his friends was a must now, especially given the slight past on Snape by Dumbledore and his connection to-

"Now, as everybody in this Hall knows, Lord Voldemort and his followers are once more at large and gaining in strength."

Draco didn't seem to notice, but all three of the shinobi's eyes were on him, studying him. Whether Dumbledore's words were for their benefit or not, they were grateful all the same. It gave them a chance to see Draco's reactions – which, sadly, were few and far between – before getting the information from Naruto's summon.

They and they alone were given permission to be in the halls at night. According to McGonagall, the perfect place to share information without prying ears was called the Room of Requirement, and was also a place to train.

That's where they were headed after being showed their rooms and given the passwords to their dormitories.

"But now, your beds await, as warm and comfortable as you possibly wish, and I know your top priority is to be well-rested for your lessons tomorrow. Let us therefore say good night. Pip pip!"

* * *

Sakura was the last to arrive at the Room of Requirement, and when she did, she was shaking. Naruto had to take a step back.

"S-Sakura-chan…?" It was Naruto's turn to stutter as a large boulder appeared in the center of the room, and Sakura's fist was pulled back. Walls went up in front of Naruto and Hinata as the stone shattered, disappearing once the pieces hit the wall.

Seconds later, Sakura was slightly calmer; the shaking had stopped.

"Sakura-chan, what happened?"

"My roommates, _that's_ what happened. They're the _most irritating little shits-_"

Hinata put her hand over her mouth to stifle her chuckle. "Did you get F-First Years?"

Sakura yanked on her own hair. "Yes- wait, did you two _not_ get first years?!"

Naruto scratched the back of his neck. "There was an extra bunk with some Sixth Years…"

Hinata looked away a bit guiltily. "I'm with s-some Fifth Years…"

Sakura glared at them. "I hate you," She hissed before throwing a pack on the floor.

Naruto raised a brow. "What's that?"

A bed, just like the one back at her apartment, appeared in the corner. "Clothes. I'm sleeping here tonight."

Hinata shook her head sadly before sitting in a chair. "Let's see what he discovered, and then head off to bed." Naruto nodded before summoning the frog again.

They all sat in a circle around him as his regurgitated what everyone said in their own voices, even their conversation with Draco. It was increasingly weird to hear themselves coming from a frog.

As far as his involvement with Voldemort, it was certainly implied. Especially when he sad, "maybe the job he wants me to do isn't something that you need to be qualified for."

Having the frog save that last bit in his memory, he let him disappear until he needed him again, which would be before breakfast. After all, they needed to grab whatever books and supplies they needed from Dumbledore, where he would tell them what classes they qualified for.

Naruto and Hinata bid Sakura goodnight, leaving for their dormitories while Sakura snuggled into familiar sheets, trying to forget her already irritating roommates that reminded her too much of her old self, in a bad way.


	9. Nine Lives

_A/N: Hey everyone! The current vote is at a tie right now, so please go to my profile to vote what Quidditch position Naruto should play! Thanks! (:_

_**I also received a comment about me changing the main HP character to Draco.**__ Since their messaging was turned off, I figured I'd address it. While the pairing choice is _still_ undecided, seeing as Draco is their 'target', he is therefore the main HP character (am I right, or am I right?), pairings aside._

_**Lastly, I wanna give a big THANK YOU **__**to everyone who has reviewed. **__And for the 91 favorites, 152 followers, and 12,300+ views. Like, WHAT. But seriously guys. You're all doll faces. And I love you._

**Unknown Hero**

_Nine Lives_

They arrived at Dumbledore's office early, he himself was just sitting down. "My, my, you three are on time. I must say, with how late you were up last night. I expected to be kept waiting."

Naruto grinned. "We rarely get the luxury to sleep in, and we're used to not sleeping much."

With a smile, Dumbledore nodded his head. "I assume so. Now, onto why you're here. The classes a sixth year takes are different than previous years, in which every student had the same classes. At the end of fifth year, students take an exam that tests the extent of their knowledge on the subject to be specialized the following year. Seeing as you are, technically speaking, unable to enroll in classes based upon these scores, your schedule will be based on both your abilities and interests. Now, while the staff should be going easy on you grading-wise, in class you will be treated as any other student."

Naruto pouted, as he'd never been too keen on learning to begin with, especially in regards to the Academy.

"Now, all three of you qualify for Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Charms, and Transfiguration, which are a few of the core classes. I have a list of other classes that you may take should they pique your interest. Naruto, you first." Dumbledore motioned for him to walk over to him, and Naruto did so.

He squinted down at the list. "Huh… Care of Magical Creatures sounds cool!" Dumbledore nodded and pressed the tip of his wand to a different sheet of paper, which revealed the class names, professors, time, and place of the class. Naruto held it up with a grin.

"Now, you, Hinata," After glancing at all the possibilities a few times, she turned scarlet. "C-Care of… M-Magical Creatures as well." Sakura gave her a look, and she sent one back. There was nothing else she liked! What else was she supposed to pick?! "Oh, and D-Divination!"

A soft smirk on her face, Sakura went to look at the list for herself. And it only grew wider. "Herbology, definitely. And Ancient Runes! That sounds like fun." When she stepped back, she saw the look of horror on Hinata's face. Dumbledore seemed to misinterpret this.

"Don't worry, Miss Hyuuga, you won't have to worry about other students for Care of Magical Creatures. It seems that the other sixth years didn't appreciate it, so it will only be you and Mister Uzumaki. And Hagrid, of course, as he's the Professor." She could've sworn her face went numb. And that Dumbledore's eyes glinted mischievously, as if he knew exactly what he was doing after all.

Sakura could've cackled – something she'd only known Tsunade to do, but only when she was drunk and thought her losing streak was about to be over.

Naruto, as oblivious as ever, slung his arm around Hinata's shoulders. "Geez, I won't ever be rid of you this year!" It was joking of course, but being as thick as he was, he didn't see Hinata's look of pain.

Sakura stepped in. "Breakfast starts in an hour. Let's get a bit of training in. Hinata and I against Naruto." Her face lit back up, while Naruto looked to Sakura.

"Awh, c'mon, Sakura-chan!" He whined. Ignoring him, she linked her arm through Hinata's and turned to Dumbledore. He smiled at them, their necessary books floating towards them.

"I wish you three a fun first day of classes." They returned his smile, bid him good day, and went on their way with their necessities.

Dumbledore laced his fingers together, watching their retreating forms. They were a breath of fresh air. Not only their personalities, but their powers. Too long had – while he never minded, of course – he been one of the very few, very powerful wizards in the world; one of the only in the school. Of course, the Professors were powerful in their own right, but these ninja?

One of them would be a very powerful opponent to him. He wasn't sure who would win. But if two, even all three, were to battle against him…he knew the outcome was not in his favor.

With this extra security, these extra pairs of eyes, he felt quite at ease for the following months when he would be out of the castle for extended periods of time. If anyone tried _anything_, three exchange students would be the least likely opponent for them.

And that's why they were his most powerful defense, a portion of the mission only the four of them knew about.

They were also guardians of Hogwarts in the case of an attack.

* * *

Sakura glowered at her plate of eggs. She was surrounded by three pint-sized, loud-mouthed girls who constantly giggled with each other and would look to Sakura for reassurance that the joke was funny.

And she whole heartedly ignored them.

"Sakura, right? You look very uncomfortable. What's wrong?" She could've cried when the blonde made her way over to her, the dreamy look still on her face. She guessed it never left.

Sakura's roommates noticed the looks that the other Ravenclaws were giving Luna and quickly left, desperate to fit in. She let out a sigh of relief and smiled at the girl.

"They were the problem, but they're gone now and I feel much better. So thanks." Luna looked a bit surprised, but nonetheless carried on.

"That's good. It must be tough switching to wands." It took Sakura a second to realize she was completely going into a different subject, but she followed her, scrapping the previous conversation.

"Oh it is. Our weapons could be either large or small, so having a set size to channel through will take a bit getting used to." She shrugged, picking at the meal in front of her.

"Did you have to take O.W.L.S.?"

Sakura's brow furrowed. "O.W.L.S.?"

Luna smiled. "The exam,"

"No. We don't have exams like that. It's more…practice on usage than having our noses in books all day. Professor Dumbledore based our classes on what we're good at and what we wanted to take, even though our knowledge is vastly different than what you're taught." She figured that something like that could explain why they would have trouble with the lessons at first.

And it would be known, judging by how many people were listening to her conversation. With a smile, she looked down to the rest of the table. "Are you all having fun?" Many flushed and abruptly turned away.

One girl gave Sakura an odd look, as if she didn't really know what exactly was going on. She was easily distinguishable, mainly because of a large cluster of what looked to be large pimples on her forehead, formed to spell out the word 'SNEAK'.

Immediately, Sakura scowled. She didn't know the circumstances whatsoever, but anyone who bore such a mark didn't seem to be very trustworthy. And to not only Sakura, but most other shinobi, was trust important. She glared at the girl and turned away, noticing the time.

"I'll see you later, Luna. I gotta get to Ancient Runes."

"I don't expect you to, but thank you for the offer." Sakura clasped her hand over her shoulder.

"No, we'll definitely talk later. You're one of a kind, Luna." She walked away with a grin, knowing that Luna also wore a smile.

* * *

He didn't get any sleep. He'd spent the night thinking of how to get close to them, how to 'befriend' the exchange students with a vast knowledge of weapons.

It would be best to do it quick, and hope that the unrest would drive them back to Japan without any knowledge of the tools they'd given him.

Ever since…well…_it_ happened, he was in no mood to give useless flattery, even to the white-eyed girl, the boy was too weird, and the other girl was too fiery.

Just thinking about everything made his head hurt.

By sunrise, he determined that he would see which classes they would have together and go from there.

Then it would be charm. Only the boy was in Gryffindor, and – according to Blaise – seemed to have little interest and knowledge of Potter, so it was unlikely that the boy would immediately dislike him due to Potter's meddling.

And to the girls, of course, he'd be the perfect diplomatic gentleman. They wouldn't become friends, but more like acquaintances. He'd take interest in their lives back home, inquiring about the differences between Hogwarts and whatever place they went to.

It would be an act of curiosity, but in reality, it would be the clever mask of something much deeper.

* * *

The three of them arrived in front of Defense Against the Dark Arts at the same time. Sakura had been right behind Hermione, and they both carried Ancient Runes books. While Hermione had a frantic expression, Sakura seemed…excited.

"This is all so interesting," She grinned, and she could've sworn Hermione sent a glare her way as she told Harry and Ron of all the homework they had.

The classroom door opened and it quickly reminded Sakura that it was taught by the very _pleasant_, obviously _joyful_ Professor Snape.

His presence seemed to make the surrounding area drop ten degrees. "Inside," When the three walked inside, it reminded them of Anko's office in the interrogation unit, as well things Sakura had seen in the hospital. They were the only ones unfazed by the pictures, while everyone else looked at them, horrified.

"I have not asked you to take out your books, I wish to speak to you, and I want your fullest attention." The shinobi noticed that, by the way everyone acted, Snape was a feared teacher and, most likely, wizard.

And they were the only ones who looked at him indifferently, something he did not fail to notice when he took a second to stare everyone down.

"You have had five teachers in this subject so far, I believe. Well, most of you." He gave them a pointed look, one that looked to be one of disgust. Sakura and Naruto grinned back at him.

"Naturally, these teachers will all have had their own methods and priorities. Given this confusion I am surprised so many of you scraped an O.W.L. in this subject. I shall be even more surprised if all of you manage to keep up with the N.E.W.T. work, which will be much more advanced." Sakura assumed that the N.E.W.L. he was talking about was the level that they were currently at. Snape trailed off, his voice going soft with a tone of, if Sakura was correct, slight admiration. She looked at Naruto out the corner of her eye and he gave the slightest of nods, indicating that he heard it too.

"The Dark Arts are many, varied, ever-changing, and eternal. Fighting them is like fighting a many-headed monster, which, each time a neck is severed, sprouts a head even fiercer and cleverer than before. You are fighting that which is unfixed, mutating, indestructible. Your defenses must therefore be as flexible and inventive as the arts you seek to undo. These pictures," He gestured to the grotesque pictures on the wall, and the shinobi began to half-listen and half-attempt to play the scene out in their heads. How it happened, how it could have been avoided- "give a fair representation of what happens to those who suffer, for instance, the Cruciatus Curse, feel the Dementor's Kiss, or provoke the aggression of the Inferius."

A girl asked about the Inferius and Voldemort – which they seemed to refer to as the Dark Lord – and Hinata jotted it down for later research.

"Now, you are, I believe, complete novices in the use of nonverbal spells. What is the advantage of a nonverbal spell?"

Hermione was the only one with her hand up and after a few moments of Snape blatantly ignoring her, he called on her and she explained, which Snape commented on how it was exactly copied from a book.

The shinobi exchanged looks. It was good, then, that they were skilled in using jutsu in similar ways. Perhaps this lesson wouldn't make a complete joke out of them.

"-Not all wizards can do this, of course; it is a question of concentration and mind power which some lack." At the last word, his gaze was fixated upon Harry. So, Harry irritated him as well? He seemed to be the to-go source on Snape, then, as there must be some history between the two. And if their aggression towards each other would carry from the summer to the classroom, then she would need some information on him.

"You will now divide into pairs. One partner will attempt to jinx the other _without speaking_. The other will attempt to repel the jinx _in equal silence_. Carry on." Sakura immediately turned to Hinata in order to save her from a Gryffindor boy with no partner who had been eyeing her, and Naruto joined him instead.

Naruto was silently glad that Dumbledore had given them a large list of spells to practice – as it turned out, pushing chakra through the wands worked just like the witches and wizard's magic, although, according to Dumbledore, it was tougher their way as magic usually just flowed through their wands – so he could effectively perform the task at hand and not look like an idiot. And it didn't take long for him to block every jinx the boy was throwing at him, muttering the jinxes under his breath instead of in his head.

In about twenty minutes, Sakura and Hinata were having a silent match – attacking and defending on and off – as they quickly got the hang of it. Snape didn't even seem to notice them, but other students around them stopped and stared at them.

The two kunoichi were grinning. It was just like sparring, except these jinxes were harmless. Sure, they wouldn't be fun to be hit by, but there would be no intended pain. With a look, they both knew that after the mission was completed, they were keeping their wands. Oh, how funny it would be to cast the Jelly Legs Jinx on Ino when she was walking around the village-

"Protego!" All heads turned to Harry, who used the spell against Snape, who had fallen into a desk. While everyone else was dead silent, Sakura stifled a laugh.

"Do you remember me telling you we are practicing _nonverbal_ spells, Potter?"

"Yes,"

"Yes, _sir_,"

"There's no need to call me 'sir', Professor." While many gasped, Sakura's laugh escaped, but as Snape turned to see who the culprit was, her face was blank, showing no signs of the offense.

"Detention, Saturday night, my office. I do not take cheek from anyone, Potter…not even '_the Chosen One'_."

* * *

They all seemed to have a free period before lunch, as the three exchange students were out in the courtyard, sprawled out in the sun, softly chatting.

Pansy was tugging at his arm, practically begging him to return to the dormitory with her, but he pulled away, telling her he'd be there after lunch. With a pout, she turned on her heel and walked away.

Draco rolled his eyes at her childishness – she was really only still around with the way she was _always_ there, and would go away when she wasn't wanted (which was considerably often, recently) – and made his way towards the trio.

"You three did pretty well for never using wands before," He attempted to make his voice as friendly as he could possibly muster, which, in retrospect, wasn't that friendly at all. And it was evident in the faces of the three. "In Defense Against the Dark Arts class, I mean."

"Thanks," Naruto raised a brow. "We practiced over the summer." It was silent for a few moments, as Draco didn't know what else to say.

She knew Draco was in their first class together, but hadn't thought of a plan to introduce themselves to him yet. She never expected him to come to them! This was going much better than expected!

Sure, she had no idea what his motive could've been, but whatever it was would be harmless at the moment. She could tell in his eyes he was searching for something, but she didn't know what it was quite yet.

All in due time, she supposed.

"Why don't you sit down…?" She trailed off with a motion of her hand, hoping he'd introduce himself. After all, they supposedly had no idea who he was.

"Draco, Draco Malfoy."

"Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Sakura Haruno,"

"Hinata H-Hyuuga…"

After their sufficient introductions, a tanned girl went to walk past them before doing a double-take. She was a Slytherin. "Draco, sitting with people of _other houses_? I never thought I'd see the day!" She chuckled, but not in a teasing way, more-so as if it was actually comical.

"At least I don't spend my days with Muggleborns, Rud." She laughed again, throwing her auburn braid over her shoulder.

"Oh, Draco, you're just mad that she can easily kick your ass." She ended the conversation, as if deeming Draco not worthy enough to waste another breath on and nearly skipped away.

"A friend of yours?" Sakura hid her smirk, but Draco still gave her a look.

"Hardly," He scoffed. His eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he tilted his chin up. "You three are all Purebloods, right?" They nodded. A look of satisfaction crossed his face. "Good."

Sakura openly smirked this time. "Blood purity…is that why you so strongly dislike Harry Potter, like we saw on the train?" The train was almost forgotten by them all, but a sudden thought had crossed her, and while it caused Draco to angrily stand, it was worth the look on his face.

"My reasons are not of your concern," He spat at them, and all but ran back to the Slytherin dormitories.

Hinata scowled. "Why d-did you push h-him away?"

"Yeah, Sakura-chan! When are we gonna get another opportunity where he just walks _to_ us?"

Sakura pushed a piece of hair behind her ear. "Because. I wanted to establish that we aren't going to be one of his blind followers, before he gets the wrong idea. He needs to treat us like we're on equal footing from the start. Otherwise, how can he really trust us if he thinks that, like his buddies, we'll run or tell at the slightest provocation? Even if it means being a little…_rough_, once in a while."

* * *

"I still don't see the point in having them, Headmaster. We already know of his plans. We know everything. Why do we need them?" It was lunch, but both Snape and Dumbledore were missing from the staff table, instead in his office, Dumbledore sitting at his chair while Snape paced in front of him, anger at Potter still fresh on his face.

"I want…no, need more. I want to know his plans and the extent of everything, things that even you may not be able to provide me, Severus. This way, I can avoid his attempts until the opportune moment. I will choose my death wisely. Also…" He paused for a moment, turning away from Severus and to the grand window.

"There's something I must know that only they can provide the answers to."

"About what?" Dumbledore smiled at his prodding.

"Their world. Something an old friend wasn't able to answer."

"You've been to their world?"

"Oh yes, Severus. You know better than anyone I do not trust blindly." Snape recoiled a bit and turned away from Dumbledore, and in turn, he ignored him. "As Miss Haruno so politely reminded you, they are more than capable for this mission in which they have been assigned. Things work very differently in their world than in ours. You will be hard pressed to scare them in Defense Against the Dark Arts, unlike your other students." Snape's eye visibly twitched.

"I see,"

Dumbledore stood. "What do you see, exactly?"

"They are here not only for you to gather information on the Dark Lord. You're gathering information on them as well."

Dumbledore waved a hand airily, a soft smile on his face. "What gave you that impression?"


	10. Tenten

_A/N: Okay, and so this chapter is when the Naruto Shippuden story line gets fucked up. Why? 'Cause I can. (And because I haven't read the manga much. At all. I read a bit in the beginning and I'm reading it now, but what I know of what happened for 500+ chapters has come from the Naruto wikia and, to be honest, I don't feel like reading into the part that I'm going to mess with and that I know next to nothing about.)_

_I'm following the HBP story line as closely as possible, and that should be good enough for you :p_

_And I just realized I forgot to post their pottermore accounts for you all! Sakura: ChaserWolfsbane15066, Naruto: SnitchCastle1735, and Hinata: PurpleAvis1219._

_(And I apologize for horribly writing Hagrid's speech patterns.)_

**Unknown Hero**

_Tenten_

It was completely unexpected. All shinobi from every mission had been recalled. Except Naruto, Sakura, and Hinata.

Tsunade absolutely _refused_ to recall them, even though they were three of the most powerful shinobi in the village and they were sorely needed.

Suna shinobi were on their way as back-up and in the meantime, she and Ino were back-to-back, fending off Oto shinobi and Root members, both under the control of Danzou.

One of Ino's new techniques involved the bell that now hung off the long end of her skirt. Infused with chakra, it created a genjutsu to those who heard it but were unaware of how to cancel it. It wasn't very strong yet and didn't last too long, but it was long enough for Tenten to mow down those caught in it with a barrage of kunai and shuriken.

With both of their best friends gone, they found this new combination to be _killer_.

But, apparently, not good enough.

Shinobi were still coming at them, a seemingly endless wave that wouldn't relent.

Shino burst past them, bugs fluttering from his jacket with Kiba and Akamaru a few feet behind, taking out opponents rapidly. A stream of sand barely missed them, crushing Oto shinobi in its wake.

Nearly everyone was here. Nearly everyone was fighting for Konoha.

They just hoped that nearly everyone was enough.

* * *

Sakura took a seat next to Luna during lunch, noticing how empty the hall seemed.

"Homework," A girl explained, and Sakura noticed it was the same girl from earlier, the girl who sat next to the girl with 'SNEAK' on her forehead. Green eyes narrowed at her before turning back to her lunch, which she nearly stuffed into her mouth.

She knew Draco was in the hall before she sensed the alarms go off, mostly because of hearing Pansy's voice. Apparently, she had just tripped an already nervous first year and laughed to Draco's other friends while he solemnly took his seat.

She watched as Pansy danced around the first year she had just tripped and to a pair that sat off to the side, both taking no interest to what was around them until the girl was in front of them.

"Yes?" One with jet-black hair drawled, her purple nails tapping on her cheek.

Pansy seemed to falter for a second, before visibly getting ready to shriek something. In an instant, the girl who had spoken was on her feet, golden-brown eyes narrowed.

"Oh, I _dare_ you to call me a mudblood, Parkinson." After Pansy thrusted her nose in the air and calmly walked back to her posse, it was Sakura's turn to approach the two.

Except, in her case, she came bearing a smirk and an outstretched hand.

"It's nice to see someone in this place has that nice of a glare. I feel like we could be great friends." Sensing the girl's suspicion, she paused, then sighed. "And while I guess I belong in Ravenclaw, most of them aren't very fun."

The second girl of the pair spoke up. "I saw you half an hour ago, with Malfoy." The dark-haired girl's eyes narrowed.

Sakura's brow raised at her reaction and decided that, since Draco was well within hearing range and she wanted to befriend _both _of them, she would play it off. "He was just interested in hearing about Japan." She shrugged, and the two girls looked at each other before the tan, modelesque one grinned up at her.

"Well, sweetie, it's nice to meet you. I'm Tory,"

"Ophelia,"

"And you're…Sakura, I assume? One of the exchange students?" She nodded, taking a seat across from them before flaring her nostrils.

"Honestly, I've never heard of these rifts between wizards just based on blood purity. Where I come from, you either use magic or you don't. It's that simple." She shrugged. It was true, in a sense.

You were either a shinobi or a citizen. Sure, one gained special treatment if from a prominent shinobi family, but if one had citizen parents and wanted to become a shinobi, there was very little teasing. Well, unless you were a horrible shinobi with no promise.

Before they could talk any further, Hinata placed a delicate hand on Sakura's shoulder.

"S-Sakura-chan?"

"Hey, Hinata! What's up?" The petite girl's expression turned dark, white eyes narrowing into slits.

"I have Care of Magical Creatures next. You'll pay." Sakura shrunk back at both her tone and her ability to say a sentence without stuttering – and in front of strangers – as Hinata walked out of the hall.

* * *

Her earlier anger at Sakura quickly faded once Naruto caught up to her on the way to class. It was a mostly one-sided conversation, but Hinata still listened intently to every word, no matter how silly.

The mood changed, however, once they approached Hagrid's hut.

Like Dumbledore had said, they were the only ones taking the class. But apparently, no one had told Hagrid.

"Now don' git me wrong, you lot are good, but you two are the _only_ ones in the class?!" They meekly nodded.

Slapping a giant hand onto his face, Hagrid made a noise between a grunt and a groan before raising his head to them. "Well, this class might's well be a sorta 'crash course' in creatures, since you don' know a t'ing!"

Within the first ten minutes, they both understood why they were the only ones in the class. Hinata enjoyed it more than Naruto, but only marginally, due to her adoration of animals, but even she had limits.

And these slimy _things_ were definitely crossing the line.

* * *

Sakura was walking to Potions with both Tory and Ophelia when she saw both of her teammates all but sprinting to class. She nodded to her newfound friends and they walked ahead, leaving the trio.

"No wonder we're the only ones in that horrible class…" Naruto ran a hand through his hair. "Whatever it was we were touching and squeezing-" Sakura made a face.

"Yeah, I don't really need a visual." Naruto looked to the two Slytherins.

"Who're they?"

"Ophelia and Tory. They're really cool, and they're kind of at odds with Draco, but moreso Pansy, that annoying girl with him all the time." She then lowered her voice. "I'm pretty sure Draco is taking Potions as well. And so is Harry and them." She gave Naruto a pointed look, to which he nodded and the three then continued walking down the dungeons and trying not to smile satisfactorily when they felt Draco pass through the trap, letting them know he wasn't very far behind them.

A minute or two after they reached the classroom, Slughorn gracelessly opened the door, his wide smile seemed to only be aimed at the shinobi trio, Harry, and Blaise.

Blaise and Draco were the only other Slytherins besides Sakura's new friends, so they beckoned her over to their table, and after a few complicated moments, Hinata and Naruto ended up with Draco and Blaise. At first, Draco sat at the edge, but with the exchange students at the table, he switched with Blaise, claiming that he was too close to the door – and Blaise only agreed so that he didn't have to listen to his whining.

"Now then, now then, now then; scales out, everyone, and potion kits, and don't forget your copies of _Advanced Potion-Making…_" While Harry raised his hand to ask a question, Hinata could tell that Sakura was getting visibly excited. After all, medicine and poisons were her specialty, so she was obviously curious as to what other things could be brewed up.

"Now then, I've prepared a few potions for you to have a look at, just out of interest, you know. These are the kind of thing you ought to be able to make after completing you N.E.W.T.s. You ought to have heard of 'em, even if you haven't made 'em yet. Anyone tell me what this one is?" He pointed to the one that was very close to Naruto, which Hermione pointed out as Veritaserum which could force the drinker to tell the truth. He exchanged a look with Hinata and then Sakura.

Well, well…this mission would be even better than they thought. If they could figure out how to make that and bring it back to Konoha, interrogations would be _much_ easier, although Anko would complain that it was much less fun-

"This one here is pretty well known… Featured in a few Ministry leaflets lately too… Who can-?" Polyjuice potion. Not the best, but it could be useful. The drinker had to have a lock of hair from the target and could only turn into someone and not simply change their appearance. It wasn't the best, but the perk was it didn't require chakra and couldn't be sensed by shinobi. Though it did need to be drunk _very_ often-

"It's Amortentia!" Hermione answered yet again, before explaining that it was the most powerful love potion. Sakura cast a glance over her shoulder to Hinata at that, who glowered back at the girl. Sakura had to suppress a laugh.

As Slughorn and Hermione chatted about one thing or another, Hinata heard Draco whisper something to Blaise and they both chuckled. She glared at him from the corner of her eye, not liking what was said whatsoever.

"Amortentia doesn't really create _love_, of course. It is impossible to manufacture or imitate love. No, this will simply cause a powerful infatuation or obsession. It is probably the most dangerous and powerful potion in this room – oh yes. When you have seen as much of life as I have, you will not underestimate the power of obsessive love…"

Naruto sniggered at that, thinking of Sakura and Sasuke, and the old Team 7. Naruto's slightly obsessive love for Sakura, Sakura's _highly_ obsessive love for Sasuke – though, to her credit, it wasn't as blind as every other fangirl – and Sasuke's obsessive love for revenge. And, not to leave out their _beloved_ sensei, Kakashi's _incredibly _obsessive love for pornographic novels.

"Oho," He was brought back to earth when Slughorn addressed the last potion in the room. It was a small, curious thing, and Slughorn beamed at it. "Yes. That. Well, _that_ one, ladies and gentlemen, is a most curious little potion called Felix Felicis. I take it that you know what Felix Felicis does, Miss Granger?" Hermione seemed to be nearly bouncing off the walls.

At her saying that Felix Felicis, or liquid luck, made one lucky, Draco's attention snapped forward, finally paying attention to Slughorn.

All three of them noticed that.

"Desperately trick to make, and disastrous to get wrong. However, if brewed correctly, as this has been, you will find that all your endeavors tend to succeed…at least until the effects wear off."

"Why don't people drink it all the time, sir?" Excellent question, Sakura had just been wondering that herself. If she could get her hands on how to make it properly and distribute it amongst the shinobi and make it readily available in the hospital…

"Because if taken in excess, it causes giddiness, recklessness, and dangerous overconfidence. Too much of a good thing, you know…highly toxic in large quantities. But taken sparingly, and very occasionally…" Sakura frowned, but the idea didn't completely vanish. Okay, so only for the _hardest_ missions and _most daunting_ surgeries… Yeah, that would do.

"And that is what I shall be offering as a prize in this lesson." Everyone seemed to freeze. Draco especially, who didn't even breathe. "One tiny bottle of Felix Felicis. Enough for twelve hours' luck. From dawn till dusk, you will be lucky in everything you attempt." The three shinobi could practically hear Draco's heart beating in his chest, so fast they were surprised he didn't collapse. Slughorn went on to explain that it was banned from tests, sports, etc., which seemed to be quite obvious.

"So, how are you to win my fabulous prize? Well, by turning to page ten of _Advanced Potion-Making_. We have a little over an hour left to us, which should be time for you to make a decent attempt at the Draught of Living Death. I know it is more complex than anything you have attempted before, and I do not expect a perfect potion from anybody. The person who does best, however, will win little Felix here. Off you go!"

Everyone sped off to make said potion, and it became completely silent. Having studied potion ingredients during the week of summer they were here, they were able to recognize what the potion called for.

However, they had never attempted an actual potion before. They were clearly behind all of the other students at first, but they quickly caught up. Draco, who was beside Hinata, kept sending half-hearted glares her way as she reached the same stage his potion was at.

When the time came to cut up the sopophorous bean, Sakura felt her anger increase. How could something so small not be cut so easily?! Eyes narrowed, she looked around to make sure no one was looking before making the smallest chakra scalpel she could manage and cut the bean. She gave a loud, palpable sigh of relief and held her knife for effect. Hinata and Naruto caught on quickly, using their own means to cut the bean, which was difficult considering they were sitting next to the one person in the room who seemed to want it most.

"And time's…up! Stop stirring, please!" All three of the shinobi's potions were now a pleasant shade of lilac, and Draco was giving his two table mates a clear jealous look. Slughorn went over to their tables first.

"My, my, weapons aren't the only thing you three were taught! They're exceptional! If no one else's is better, we'll have a three-way tie on our hands!"

He then praised Hermione's –which wasn't as light as theirs', but was still better than the rest – and then his face lit up when he reached Harry. "The clear winner!" He then rattled on.

In order to try to start a conversation, Naruto grumbled, "Damn, I would've liked that potion, too."

Blaise pointedly looked away, Hinata said nothing, and only in order to maintain civility Draco was the one to respond. "Yeah, but of course the _Chosen One_ is the only one _worthy_ of it." Blaise raised a brow, most likely remembering the incident on the train, as well as the fact that Naruto was a Gryffindor.

Naruto pressed his lips together. "I'm not sure if I even believe in that crap. If you ask me, it's only to inflate his ego."

This seemed to please Draco, who sat a little bit straighter in his seat and almost smirked at Naruto's words.

* * *

"This is a dangerous game," Sakura had her head in her hands as they sat in the Room of Requirement, free of Sakura's bed – at her Head of House, Professor Flitwick's, request. "Trying to play ally to both of them."

"But w-we haven't with H-Harry yet,"

"Yeah, but what happens when we do, and he immediately dismisses us because of our relations with Draco?"

"I got it!" Eyes turned to Naruto. "I'll be the one to befriend Harry and them. We're in the same house, after all, and you two become more focused on Draco. That way, we're only really associated with both of them through each other."

Sakura nodded. "It's a good start, at least. Hopefully we become a special case to them because of our…er, status."

"A-And if we make a lot friends, it'll be l-less suspicious." Naruto clapped his hands together with a grin.

"It's settled, then!"

* * *

The boy still hadn't returned to the common room, and in the meantime Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat in a close-knit circle, all talk of the potions book gone and instead focused on a new topic: the exchange students.

"I still think we should be wary of them," Hermione said, "sure, they just might be students, but this is just too much. And, so far, they've been in the same classes as you both, and the pink-haired one was in Ancient Runes with me."

"But that's only three classes so far," Ron pointed out.

"I know but-"

"I think you're worrying for nothing, Hermione. No offense." She huffed.

"Harry, what do you think?" Harry paused.

"I dunno. Earlier today, before breakfast, they were in Dumbledore's office with him, and then I checked a few minutes later and they were gone. Completely off the map." Their eyes widened.

"Okay, that's strange." Hermione gave Ron a look of triumph. "But it doesn't mean anything, really. I mean, how could they have just disappeared? It's impossible." Their chatter stopped when the blonde nearly skipped in through the portrait, paying no heed to all the stares he received.

Although, he did send a grin Harry's way before retreating to the dormitories.

"What was that about?"

"We met on the train," Harry explained, "both at Slughorn's and then when they accidentally walked into Draco's compartment."

Hermione looked lost in thought for a moment before looking Harry dead in the eyes. "Try to make friends with him, Harry. And even if nothing is wrong, you'll-"

"Have international relations," Ron rolled his eyes. "Speaking of, how's that working out for you, Hermione?"

She huffed. "I have no idea what you're talking about!" And then stormed off to bed, Ron shortly leaving to his own once she was out of sight.

Harry sighed. This would definitely not be a dull year.

* * *

Sakura's large owl swooped over her at breakfast the next morning, dropping the scroll before taking perch on her shoulders as if it was going to carry her away. To any ordinary person, the sheer weight of the owl would have put them horribly off balance and the digging claws would be painful. Sakura simply shrugged off both.

"What'cha got, S?" Her nosey roommate Anastasia, who had taken to calling her 'S' because she couldn't pronounce her actual name, began to hop out of her seat to take a look at what she got.

At Sakura's glare, she sat back on the bench, stealing looks at Sakura whenever she could, hoping to decipher what it was.

As she unrolled it, she noticed the hastily written kanji, paired with smudges, and a mix of drops that looked to be blood, sweat, and tears. Her frozen features garnered her teammate's attention, and they rushed to her side, ignoring the odd looks the Ravenclaws gave them.

_Sakura,_

_It's…it's horrible…_

_Tsunade won't pull you from your mission, but everyone else is here, fighting. Even Suna._

_Pein threatened to attack. It didn't end up happening, but his body was brought to us as proof by…_

_By Uchiha Itachi._

_Danzou attacked. He's trying to kill Tsunade, to become Hokage. All of his Root agents are fighting us, besides Sai. We have him locked up so he doesn't get caught in the fray._

_Many of Orochimaru's old subordinates are under Danzou's control as well. All these horrible experiments are running around…many are very skilled._

_Tsunade made sure the villagers are safe._

_We don't know his plan yet. Jiraiya left us some clues about Pein and warnings about Danzou but…_

They all had to squint after that. The last few kanji were in the worst condition – horribly smudged and barely legible.

And when Hinata figured it out, she squeaked and, on a whim, gripped Naruto's hand.

"Jiraiya is dead."

_Tenten_


	11. Eleven Colors of the Wind

_A/N: The chapter titles will only be getting ridiculous as the story continues. I have absolutely no idea what to do with them, so yeah. Enjoy the ridiculousness._

**Unknown Hero**

_Eleven Colors of the Wind_

Cold. Everything felt cold. He could _feel_ it.

He was going to die.

And not even by who was supposed to kill him. _God_ this wasn't good.

Closing eyes blinked slowly as the wind passed through the trees above and around him, rustling the leaves and moving the branches oh-so softly. If he could feel anything but cold, the breeze might've even touched his skin.

Everything suddenly began growing dark. He almost chuckled; there was no light 'at the end of the tunnel', not for someone like him anyway. He didn't deserve the light; no, he'd be surrounded in darkness, he knew it.

He didn't know why, but everything became clear once he heard a barrage of footsteps coming his way. Were they after him? Well, they were too late. No one could save him now.

"Kankuro-san!" He heard one shout, and he could see the blurry outline of someone standing above him.

Suna shinobi.

Kankuro seemed to smirk. "Well, well, well, look who we have here…"

The man pressed his sandal foot on his cheek, making him look the other way. A useless tactic, really, that only showed the 'victim' (if that) that he was hopelessly finished and overpowered.

He already knew that, and for once in his life, he accepted it.

"Uchiha,"

* * *

The rest of the week's lessons went to hell. While both Hinata and Sakura's minds were back in Konoha and whether there was a way to sneak back to Konoha in the night and be back by morning.

Naruto, however, had been completely silent, lost in thoughts about Jiraiya. He'd broken six quills already (which he was fine with, as he hated those infernal things) and Sakura did most of the work for him. Sure, she wasn't particularly pleased about it, but she wholly understood.

In the classroom, even Snape didn't prod Naruto, hopefully in understanding…or at least the understanding that in his current state, Naruto would forget that Snape is supposedly above them – in a professor over student kind of way – and use some manner of violence against him, which would be thoroughly entertaining.

While everyone else had trouble with nonverbal spells (other than Hermione), they were exceptionally good at it, contributing their talent to prior knowledge from their other school.

When the weekend finally came, they spent a majority of it in the part of the forest near Hagrid's hut, knowing that students weren't supposed to be in the forest in the first place, and not many people were fond of Hagrid (plus, the Room of Requirement had been, curiously, already taken it seemed).

It was a wonder no one came to see what the ruckus was as Naruto let out his frustration, using Rasengan on the unsuspecting trees, lighting his anguish further.

After a few hours, Naruto had collapsed beside the two kunoichi, welcoming their arms around him.

* * *

He didn't remember the last time he slept. It'd been a week of draining classes and training at night. He didn't want to leave the mission to Sakura and Hinata, but he was too focused on what was happening back home, and how Tsunade didn't want him back there.

He knew he could handle it if he was in Konoha, making a difference, taking down Danzou. It would make him feel better.

But now all he had was a training dummy in the likes of Danzou, beating the living daylights out of it.

"_Even I can tell that hatred is spreading. I wanted to do something about it … but I don't know what … but I believe… that someday the day will come when people truly understand one another! If I can't find the answer, it will be up to you to do it!"_

Jiraiya's previous words began flashing through his mind. He grit his teeth, blue eyes nearly flashing red. _No_, he couldn't, not right now, not here…_for Jiraiya_.

"_Never go back on your word… and never give up. That's your ninja way… and as your mentor… I have no business whining! Because… the student's ninja way should be the master's too! Isn't that so, Naruto?!"_

Crack. Another dummy destroyed, and another reappeared.

"_I'm not a pervert… I'm a _super_ pervert!"_

A choking laugh escaped his lips. That's right, he'd never hear his sensei (jokingly, in a way) say that again, nor watch as he looks into the women's bathhouses again and laugh when a particularly strong one chases him around whatever village they ended up in.

And sure, Kakashi-sensei was also very dear to him, but – and he hated even thinking this – if he had a choice as to what sensei he'd rather be alive, it would be Jiraiya.

Because while Kakashi was his first sensei, the second person (other than Iruka-sensei) that he admired and looked up to…Jiraiya wasn't just his sensei…

He was also his best friend.

* * *

Even though Naruto was currently out of commission, there really wasn't much to do mission-wise. He was usually in the Slytherin common room, which they took turns infiltrating but to no avail – he and his friends were mum about anything related to Voldemort – and only once or twice they did not know where he was.

He would pass through an indicator (Hinata had thought up a better word instead of calling it a 'trap'), and then wouldn't pass through the next one, at least not for a while.

It was odd.

However, Naruto's sudden animosity and silence attracted some attention from Harry. She and Hinata didn't know what his plan was, or why he had asked them what happened to Naruto.

"It' not really our business to tell…" Sakura trailed off, though when she saw the suspicious look in his eyes, she relented. "To sum it up, there's something bad happening back home and because of the exchange program, we're not allowed to return."

He'd nodded, offered his condolences, then left.

Which was also odd.

* * *

"Harry, you're telling me you don't believe _Dumbledore_?" He shrugged.

"Well, he might not even know!" Hermione gave him an exhausted look.

"Unlike you, I trust that he knows where these _exchange_ students came from!"

"Can you just look into what's currently happening in Japan? They said something bad was happening to their school or something."

Hermione sighed, putting down the essay she was writing. "If there school is as barbaric as they make it seem, I don't think the Ministry wants any kind of information about them leaking. And we've never heard anything about any Japanese wizarding schools."

"Not even in the library?"

"I doubt it, Harry." He scratched the back of his neck.

"Could you just look into it…_please_?" She sighed at his persistence.

"Oh, fine!" He grinned triumphantly.

* * *

Quidditch. It took a little while for them to get the hang of it – as well as riding on brooms, like, _what_ – but in due time, they all played decently. Sakura had studied the rules and regurgitated them to Naruto and Hinata.

It was hard to do between lessons and Naruto's recovery, which still threw him off, but they were able to do it, and they perfected their flying in the forest. The forest was a piece of home for them, as well as the familiarity of flying through trees on foot during missions.

Naruto's tryouts were Saturday morning, the first out of the three's. Hinata's was later that day and Sakura's was the next afternoon.

While it was impractical to wear their hitai-ate – wearing something metallic that would momentarily blind someone was frowned upon – they cut black pieces of cloth and scrawled the Konoha symbol in their respective 'main' house color.

If asked, it was the symbol of their school.

But they wanted- no, _needed_ to wear them as a sign of support for the village that was entrapped in war.

For both tryouts and actual games (if they got on the team) it would be worn on their foreheads. During school, the kunoichi would either wear it as a headband or, like Naruto, around their wrist. And no one could tell them any different.

Before tryouts, Naruto wrote kanji on either side of the Konoha symbol, but they weren't able to see it clearly before he left. With their own pieces of cloth on their forehead, they went to the Gryffindor stands to watch, which for once, garnered no additional attention their looks didn't already bring.

And the tryouts were very…interesting, to say the least. Even from the stands, Sakura was getting annoyed. "If all tryouts are like this…" She grumbled to Hinata, who just chuckled.

Even though he had just started flying a week prior, Naruto was a natural on the broom. The only one who rivaled him was a redhead named Ginny, who turned out to be the younger sister of Ron.

He effortlessly made Chaser, along with Ginny and a girl named Katie.

A boy began to complain that Naruto shouldn't be able to play Quidditch – since he technically wasn't a student at Hogwarts – but Harry quickly silenced him, saying that he'd take talent wherever he could, and wouldn't settle, directing the insult at the boy.

"Thanks," Naruto nodded to Harry, before turning to the stands.

The two kunoichi smiled bittersweetly, just recognizing the kanji on this cloth.

Gama Sennin (or Toad Sage) Jiraiya.

* * *

"What position are you trying out for, Hinata?" Hinata fixed her ponytail before giving Sakura a smirk.

"Y-You'll see…"

Instead of sitting in the Hufflepuff section, Sakura and Naruto sat in the nearly-empty Ravenclaw portion. While there wasn't as many people watching this one as they did Gryffindor's, Sakura knew Naruto didn't need to be surrounded by people at the moment. And for that, he was glad.

When they realized what position Hinata was trying out for, Sakura laughed. She should've known!

Hinata would totally go for Seeker.

It was more independent; you're only stipulation was watching out for the other players and rogue bludgers. But generally, you had one job to do: catch the snitch. And even though she technically couldn't use her Byakugan, she still had sharp senses and caught the snitch faster than anyone expected.

There was no question; she immediately made the team.

* * *

Justin and Ernie sat huddled in the corner of the Hufflepuff common room with solemn faces. Justin's raised a little as Hinata entered. "Hey, Hinata!"

She raised her hand a bit shyly, trying to squeeze through the masses of people who were standing, as if not wanting to go to bed. "H-Hi,"

"Did you hear?" Justin's face fell as he asked. Hinata shook her head and Ernie ran a hand through his sleeked-back locks. "Hannah was pulled from school, yesterday in Herbology. Her…her mum was found…dead…"

Her eyes widened. "Oh n-no, I'm so sorry…" He gave her a faint smile.

"We're sorry too. Her mum was wonderful." She sat down with them, lips pressed together, not really sure what to say.

"It's just…a-awful…" He nodded. Justin's brows raised, just remembering something.

"Hinata! You didn't happen to try out for Quidditch, did you?" She flushed, a small smile on her face.

"M-Maybe…" Justin looked at her excitedly.

"What position did you try out for?"

"And say hello to our new Seeker, Hinata Hyuuga!" The Captain had burst through the common room, a legion of people around him – those who couldn't make the tryouts – and pointed to Hinata.

People scrambled over to her, mostly because she was the new shiny toy they didn't have reason to talk to before.

She became bombarded with questions, asking about Quidditch in her old school and if they played. They were shocked when she said they didn't, and she just learned Quidditch in the past two weeks.

"I think we'll be unstoppable this year," Justin remarked, and Ernie just grinned, happy with the attention of being a friend of Hinata's. At Justin's words, many of the Hufflepuffs cheered, and Hinata had to force down the blush that was rising to her cheeks.

* * *

The Slytherin Quidditch team emptied the pitch when the Ravenclaws entered. Naruto and Hinata sat in the Hufflepuff stands, and Sakura could see them clearly: Hinata's flushed face while she gently stroked Naruto's hand in a calming manner. And it showed, as Naruto was looking better than he had in a few days.

Sakura gave Hinata a grin, and the Hyuuga gave her a half-hearted glare.

Try-outs went by fast, and the second Sakura proved her accuracy and strength with hitting the bludger, Naruto and Hinata couldn't help but shrink away in fear.

They were not excited about playing against Ravenclaw in any upcoming games.

* * *

He watched through narrowed eyes, arms crossed over his chest. He was dressed in sharp black, blending in with the shadows around him.

Suna shinobi were on the ground below him, scrambling to secure their prisoner. Kankuro had a wild grin on his face, sending off a messenger Hawk to Konoha.

Even though they were currently in a war, the information was still valuable.

How could it not be?

His eyes cracked open for a second; he hadn't struggled, and they wanted to make sure he wasn't a trap before rendering him unconscious.

And in that second, their eyes met.

The younger just knew _exactly_ the other was thinking.

…

_Foolish little brother_.


	12. Only Twelve Illusions

_A/N: ASDFGHJKL I LOVE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU. I adore everyone who reviews, even just once, because it definitely makes me feel appreciated, which makes me appreciate you all that much more, and makes me want to write more (:_

_And I'm sorry if I don't reply to your review. I try to make sure I reply to everyone's, but sadly I don't all the time (mostly because I forget to, or forget whose I'd already done.)_

_ALSO! Does anyone play Sims? If so, you automatically get more love points, and we should talk about it sometime. (I'm kind of obsessed about all things sims, including legacies and stories. And if you have favorites/your own, let me know! And I'll definitely read it (: )_

_**Finally:**__ The pairing poll will officially close at Chapter 15. I already have an idea of whose going to win, but seeing as there's still time, you never know whose going to win (;_

**Unknown Hero**

_Only Twelve Illusions_

He was grasping at straws here.

Sure, he knew he still had time left. For his plan to work, he needed a lot of it.

But they were breathing down his neck, making him very nervous, and he knew Blaise was noticing. Pansy must've too, by the way she was doting on him lately.

He didn't care about them, though. Their thoughts, their opinions of him hardly mattered at all.

He knew he could do it. _He had to_. But it was getting so hard…he was losing faith little by little…

The days blended together. He never knew he could get his assignments done this fast before, but he rarely checked for quality. If it was done, it was done. He didn't care if the professors knew he was distracted; all he cared about was the fact that the sooner he finished, the sooner he could work on his task, and what it would take to complete the task.

After all, his father was in Azkaban and that could easily be an excuse for his mind to be elsewhere.

Curiously, he also noticed his mind wandered to the exchange students, and how they could help him. Their belongings weren't checked nearly as thoroughly as everyone else's, and who knows what they brought with them?

To both his own dismay and Blaise's (which he could care less about, to be honest. He didn't even consider them friends. Did he even have…_friends_? He wasn't sure what the word meant anymore.) he began chatting up Hinata and Naruto during Potions lessons, and on more than one occasion stopped Sakura as she left class to ask a question or two.

Something clicked in his mind as he thought back to the odd, temperamental pink-haired girl.

He remembered, about a month ago, when he'd last been in Diagon Alley and went to grab that ingredient…and she grabbed it right in front of his face.

Sure, it wasn't an ingredient that was favored at Hogwarts, but she surely snuck it in.

A smirk crept its way on his face, and a new plot formed in his mind. While he could still grab information on their weapons later if need be, a Plan Z most likely, this would be his failsafe.

He would most likely have to become…_friends_ with this girl before she willingly gave up the ingredient, or let her guard down enough for him to steal it. He wasn't looking forward to the action one bit, but if it got the job done quicker and halted the _Cruciatus_ threats from other Death Eaters, then it would be worth it.

But he had one more plan to put into action first…

* * *

"_Hey! Watch where you hit that thing!_"

"_Then that would be counteractive, seeing as it's the point._"

"_Why don't you aim it at her?_"

"_Hey! D-Don't bring me into this!_"

Even though they were yelling to each other in Japanese, other students didn't fail to stop and watch the three shinobi train…with Quidditch.

After being granted with an hour-long session on the pitch by Dumbledore, they wasted no time.

Currently, Hinata was playing Keeper as Sakura was wailing away the bludger, aiming it at Naruto every time. And seeing as she knew his movements pretty well, he was having a hard time. Thankfully, Hinata wasn't using her Byakugan when he tried to score, so he succeeded in that portion.

"_Why am I the only one who is training?_"

"_That's not true! I'm practicing my aim! And Hinata is following the ball, which she'll later have to do with the snitch._"

Naruto gave her a blank stare in return, to which Sakura stuck out her tongue, knowing she was right.

In the stands, Hermione huffed. "Isn't that illegal? Practicing with the opposing team?" Ron shrugged.

"I don't think so. They're not going easy on each other."

"And it was Dumbledore who gave the 'ok' for it."

She made a face. "Still…" Ron leaned forward in his own seat, eyes trained on Hermione.

"I wouldn't worry about it. Dumbledore is probably giving them this chance because they aren't actually from this school and don't really know anyone here. I mean, I don't really see them talking to anyone."

"Draco talks to them," Harry cut in, lips curling downwards in distaste, "and the pink one has a few other Slytherin friends."

Hermione rolled her eyes, her voice blunt. "Harry, I know what you're thinking." Ron raised a brow, and Hermione turned to him, keeping her voice low. "He's still on about Draco being a…_Death Eater_. And he thinks he's trying to recruit them."

"Well, they don't know anything about the real wizarding world!" He defended. "They didn't even know about _me_!"

Ron mumbled something under his breath, and Harry was sure the word 'arrogant' was in there somewhere. He brushed it off. "But think about it. If they went to that side, they might go home and tell others about them and encourage them to join in with Voldemort."

"I highly doubt he's that smart." Hermione sighed tiredly. "I mean, them knowing nothing about the current state of our world might not pertain to every Japanese wizard. If they even carried word back home, I doubt it would stick like you believe."

"But just think about it: they're supposedly barbaric. Wouldn't the sound of wizards ruling over muggles sound _wonderful_ to them? Hell, they might even be doing that in Japan! Maybe that's why we've never heard about them!"

"I agree with Hermione, mate. I doubt that-"

"Even if you don't agree, I'm still gonna try to talk to them. See what's going on." His mind was made up; he was going to see what Draco was telling them no matter what. Sure, they thought it was silly, but it was better to be safe than sorry with the threat of Voldemort looming over him, something they failed to experience at his level of intensity.

* * *

"Deception?"

"Deception."

There was a deep pause. "You asked what I was doing, and I answered." She replied, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well you answered…but didn't at the same time." She rolled her eyes.

"Did you want an essay?"

"Maybe, if it helps you get to the point." She sent him a look.

"Fine! I'm planning out a prank on Naruto."

"Why?" She pointed to her pulled-back hair, hints of black peeking through the strands.

"He put _black hair dye_ in my shampoo this morning, and since bludgeoning him to death is frowned upon in this establishment, I'll settle for revenge."

He paused again. "But why did you say this was 'deception'?"

A terrifying grin broke out on her face. "Oh, you'll see. By the way, you seriously go easy on that idiot during Quidditch practice. Get someone to aim bludgers at his head or something." Harry stared at her blankly, asking himself if she was serious. "Why does everyone here doubt the effectiveness of violence? It definitely pushes people." She closed her charms book, and stole a glance at Ron and Hermione, in which both the latter and the Professor were helping Ron out with a particularly tricky spell.

"Well, Harry, it's been a wonderful chat. Hopefully you take my advice, so that our match isn't too _boring_." Her grin was blindingly bright.

As she left, she wondered why Draco had stayed to listen. Nothing important was said, and he was alone.

What could've piqued his interest?

* * *

_Oh shit_. It was an odd puzzle, but it clicked.

She hadn't meant this to happen – Katie Bell touching a cursed necklace – and she _certainly_ hadn't expected this to be the result of a seemingly harmless conversation.

Deception.

Draco took it to heart, apparently.

Within moments, she was in Dumbledore's office.

"This seems to be indirectly my fault."

"_Indirectly_?" Snape sneered.

"Oh shut it," She hissed. Dumbledore held up a hand, eyes narrowing at her from behind his spectacles. Ignoring Snape, she turned to Dumbledore with her head held high, more than used to dealing with authority.

If she was anyone else, she should be terrified, but in reality he was far less intimidating than Tsunade. "Draco seemed to overhear a conversation I was having with Harry, in which I referred to pranking as 'deception', which apparently he took to heart. It seems that he sees using a necklace to curse someone as…deception."

Snape's eyes turned to slits. "How could you be so _ignorant-_"

"What? To say one word? They're taught _much more dangerous_ things than-"

"_Silence_!" Dumbledore didn't yell, but his voice was incredibly stern and powerful, and Snape had to take a step back. Sakura, however, didn't falter. Instead, images of Tsunade throwing _boulders_ at her face danced through her mind.

* * *

Dumbledore rubbed his tired eyes as Sakura left, a triumphant smile on her lips, leaving behind a tense Snape.

A portrait on the wall was outraged, mumbling something about disrespect and Dumbledore shot him a look, effectively cutting him off.

"Isn't she not supposed to do that?" Snape pinched the bridge of his hooked nose, narrowed eyes downcast.

"Of course she's not. But she just did, didn't she?" He pulled the kunai that was lodged in his desk out with a flick of his wand, and then twisted the metal weapon between his fingers.

"You're the one _paying_ her for this…mission! This must go against their rules!"

Dumbledore gave him a withering smile. "Probably. But I believe she is to be pardoned, when feeling threatened. And you did raise your wand to her, Severus."

"And I am a-"

"Professor, which I'm sure she is aware of. But she's faced more important people than us lowly wizards-" Snape snorted "-and has probably done the same. You don't mean to tell me that you would not defend yourself if you felt threatened…even against, say, me? Or the Minister of Magic?"

"She's different-"

"But she's still human." Dumbledore reminded him fiercely. "And a ninja. A very powerful one, at that. Even I would be wary to seriously anger her, Severus." His face blanched.

"You mean…"

"Yes, I would put up a fight but…I would most likely perish at her hands, or any of their hands. They are rational to know that I am their client, but I do not hold the same status to them as I do to those from this world. They would gladly fight if provoked, by me or even Voldemort. They have no fear of us."

Clearly irritated, Snape's face was scrunched and he left without saying a word.

As he was leaving, McGonagall was arriving. He brushed past her, and while she was used to this treatment, she could tell something was troubling him even more than usual.

"Ah, Minerva," But she never got the chance to ask Dumbledore. "I was wondering about our lovely _exchange_ student's progress in Transfiguration, as well as all aspects you've noticed."

Being one of the very few completely comfortable around him – neither were too aware of each other's pasts, as they were much more concerned with the present and future – she pulled up a chair, her normally perfect posture slouching _slightly_.

"If I weren't aware of their true origins, I would've believed they were stars in their own school." A soft smile grazed her usually stern features. "They really do fit in. It's…incredible, actually."

* * *

"Hey, Draco!" Sakura yelled to him after potions the following day. "Did you hear about that Gryffindor? I just know that something happened." She hoped she didn't sound too stupid, or too interested in what he had to say. She didn't need him becoming suspicious.

He simply just stared back. She scrunched up her nose with a dramatic sigh. "_So_? What happened?"

"I don't gossip." Her face was blank.

"Well neither do Ravenclaws the day before an exam!" Okay, so that was a lie. Her house had been full of theories behind what happened and it'd been killing her knowing the truth the entire time. She'd even thrown some false trails herself, even throwing in Filch's name-

Draco stared at her face for a few seconds, before relenting. "Fine. She apparently touched a cursed necklace, or something."

Sakura nodded, seemingly lost in thought. "Oh. Well, that's odd, seeing as security has been tightened. It seems…deceptive." She gave him a dainty wave before leaving him slack-jawed in the hallway.

* * *

Draco Malfoy was in total panic mode.

He tried convincing himself that it was just a coincidence, but even though it soothed him for a moment, he reminded himself that in his new line of work, coincidences were never a good thing.

His life was on the line here. His mother, his father…hell, even his aunt who he could barely stand…

He needed to dig deeper, for them.

Talking to her – to them – was now much more important than ever. They were no longer pawns in his game of chess, his race against the ticking clock.

He saw them now as worthy opponents, capable of cornering him. Check mate.

He refused to let that happen.

What he didn't know was how she knew he overheard her. No one had seen him…

Getting closer to her, to them, was not even an option anymore. It was a must. He needed to figure out how she seemed to have eyes and ears everywhere, and he needed to know now.

If he was to be successful in his endeavor, he needed to stay a step ahead of them.

For a second, he considered taking Snape's helping hand.

But he immediately thought better of it. To stay in the Dark Lord's good graces, he needed to prove to him he was worthy of his praise, of a prize worthy of his deeds.

And he would do it alone.

* * *

Black eyes blinked, expertly piercing through the darkness.

He could feel his chakra being sucked away by the bindings on his hands and feet. He'd move, but he wasn't too keen on the splinters he knew he would acquire if he did so.

After all, the wooden chairs in the Konoha Interrogation Unit had been broken too many times to count, and they would still be used.

Just by the poignant smell, he knew the walls hadn't been cleaned of blood from the last interrogation…or even the interrogations done years ago.

On most captives, it gave off an unsettling feeling.

But he was not most captives.

Being around rooms like this for so long, it was actually more of a comfort than a deterrent.

The door creaked open, and a tall, dark figure stood in the doorway.

He knew what this was.

His interrogator was not only sizing him up, but giving him a glimpse of freedom – a freedom which he will never experience again. It gave the captive a semblance of longing and hope. The interrogator kept his or herself in the dark, allowing the captive to forget they were there.

And then they would strike.

And he was ready for it, because he knew this _amateur _tactic like the back of his hand.

"So we meet again, Uchiha,"


	13. Unlucky Thirteen

_A/N: You guys are just wonderful, like, seriouslyy. And I'm so sorry for this being out much later than it's supposed to. No inspiration for the story paired with me being far from a happy camper equals disastrous results for my writing._

_(But I just want to give Chihori-chan a shout out to being the best reviewer ever. And for just being a perfect human being.)_

**Unknown Hero**

_Unlucky Thirteen_

The Slug Club. They'd been attending it religiously, hoping to get a glance at Harry during these times, possibly bonding over something other than Quidditch – in Naruto's case – or lessons.

But so far, he hadn't shown. Instead were two of his friends, Hermione and Ginny – the latter Naruto knew due to both being Chasers. Whenever a meeting was held, they would all sit in next to each other at the table, and were always the first ones to be greeted when Slughorn entered.

The shinobi trio and Cormac McLaggen, however, seemed to be his absolute favorites. When he wasn't rattling about his ex-students, he was talking to them, asking about their life back home.

"I understand you three are becoming the stars of your respective Quidditch teams!" Slughorn had remarked once, and they just grinned sheepishly. He scanned the others for a second before his gaze landed on Ginny. "Ah, Ginny! You're on the team with Naruto. Is this true?"

"Yeah, he's pretty good. Gives everyone a run for their money."

"But not you, of course. I hear you're the best Chaser they've had in years!"

"Not for long," Naruto declared, causing Sakura to roll her eyes. Slughorn laughed, his stomach shaking grandly with the action.

"Oho! Friendly competition, eh?" He began rattling on about Quidditch and about famous players he knew and taught, being sure to talk about the accomplishments of both them and the team since they were recruited.

"Now, you three, I have yet to ask you," He began after a generous amount of time, directing his attention back to the shinobi trio. "What do you parents do?"

Naruto seemed to freeze, the fresh loss of Jiraiya dancing in his mind – his 'adoptive' father –, along with his real parents and making him unable to trust himself to speak.

Sakura gently clasped her hand over his. "Both he and I's respective parents were war veterans, and his parents were heroes. Hinata's mother had also helped out…as a nurse to the wounded." Which was a lie. In actuality, she knew next to nothing about the girl's mother. But aside from that, she put emphasis on the past tense she was using, hoping that he would catch on and not ask them again.

Slughorn, thankfully, seemed aware and immediately began to back track, something they never thought they'd see from him.

Hinata stopped him, giving him a dainty smile. "M-My father is the head of the main b-branch of my family, as well as a p-part of the c-council…which w-would be similar to your Ministry of M-Magic." She noticed his eyes light up and smirked to herself, knowing he took the bait.

Hinata was the only person he talked to for the rest of the night, other than himself.

The two orphans were left alone.

* * *

They did it.

The grass, the trees, the dirt…they were all stained crimson.

But they did it.

Danzou's body hung on the Hokage tower for all shinobi to see.

They defeated him, Root, and Orochimaru's experiments and soldiers.

Tsunade stood on her carved face in the Hokage Mountain, her young façade gone as she forced herself to grin, arm slung over Gaara's shoulders.

It had taken a combination of both of them, but Danzou had gone down.

His influence had been deeper than expected.

While joy for the victory was in the air, so were the cries of the dying and tears of the living.

"You can do this," A soft, broken voice whispered. The owner lay on the ground, resting fully flat, except for a twisted, mangled, right leg that garnered a teal hue.

If one gazed close enough, the color seemed to slowly move up the leg, causing agony in every step. It was slowly eating its' captive alive, affecting the parts of the blood stream and muscles it touched.

"I can't stop it!" A more panicked voice rang. It was high, and very feminine. "It's too advanced for me!" She looked up to the drained Hokage and then her unconscious assistant.

Her friend would receive no help.

"We need medical assistance, _now!_" Her call was unheard in the hundred other calls for medical personnel.

They were alone.

"There's one way," The victim gently lifted themselves, propping up on their elbows. They made a single motion with their finger, and then pointed at their leg.

She backed away in horror. "No…no…I can't…I refuse!"

"It's the _only_ way you can save me!"

She looked down at her hands, and then the bell on her skirt. She sniffed, looking down at her lap.

"Okay…okay…" She raised herself to her feet with great effort, then made a sign. "I'll try to take the pain away…"

Her friend laid back down, a soft smile of contentment on their face. "Thank you…"

A happy thought, of a happier time, flashed through their mind.

And then a scream. A deafening scream. And, in an instant, it was gone.

It only reminded everyone of the horrors of war.

* * *

"Where the hell is he going?!" Sakura hissed as they ran across the ceiling, the students below them not even noticing them – with the help of their genjutsu.

The sensors had gone off at one end of the corridor, but not the end. What was of interest up here?

There wasn't much up here. There was no possible answer. No plausible-

Oh, _shit_.

They were told they were one of the few to know about it. They didn't know that Draco knew…

Him being in the Room of Requirement made complete sense, especially as to why they couldn't access it at times.

They quickly spotted him, and he was almost at the entrance. She didn't know why, but Sakura gained the sudden urge to stop him. His nerves seemed to already be on end, and who knows what could happen?

Hinata went to grab the back of her shirt, but Sakura anticipated it and fizzled out in a cloud of green smoke. The Hyuuga glared at the spot where Sakura once was, and noticed her re-appear behind a statue that was near the entrance.

"Boo!" She jumped out at Draco when he was close enough, and he nearly fell to the floor. The pinkette threw her head back with laughter. "Oh man, Draco! You should've seen your face!" She cackled at his ghostly white face which rivaled that of Snape.

"What are you even doing here?" His voice was nearly at a snap, but she paid no heed. After all, her purpose was to push him to his limits.

"Exploring, duh! I was over here when I saw you turn the corner, so I just _had_ to hide!"

He snorted. She turned her head to him.

"And what are _you_ doing up here?"

"I heard you're on the Quidditch team." She rolled her eyes.

"That was a while ago. Nice attempt to change the subject, by the way."

"Thanks." He cut in, and she gave him a brilliant smile.

"You're so uptight. You gotta lighten up a little." She tapped his cheek, and his eyes turned into slits at the action. "Besides, since you brought up Quidditch, I just wanted to let you know that from the way Gryffindor has been practicing…you'll surely be beaten at your first match."

His laugh was forced. "And it's because of their new Chaser, I suppose?"

"Nope, not at all." She grabbed onto his shoulder and stood on the tip of her toes, her mouth positioned next to his ear. "Because of their Seeker. Much better than Slytherin's."

* * *

He didn't know what was wrong with him. He'd seen Ginny and Dean again, bodies pressed together as if they were a single entity, and his blood had boiled.

She was Ron's sister. He'd grown up watching over her and, with the bond he felt with the other Weasleys – Molly watched over him as a mother would, Ron, Fred, and George felt like siblings at times – it was only logical he felt sort of protective of Ginny with boys…right?

But all his thoughts of Ginny came to a standstill when he came across a smug-looking Sakura Haruno.

She smiled and waved at him in greeting, and he returned it.

"I hear you're going harder at practices." She commented, even though they had already passed each other. He stopped and turned around, and she was already facing him.

"Yeah, losing a Chaser does that." He didn't mean for his retort to sound so…_rude_, but Sakura didn't look the least bit fazed.

"I'm sorry to hear that, and I'm sorry that you're only now realizing the importance of my tactics." She was grinning now, and something inside him twisted at it.

It was a weird feeling, but he recognized it…and it scared him.

It was something he'd felt around Ginny, something he still sort of felt when Dean wasn't around and was forgotten about.

"I still don't think I'm getting it right, though." He took a step closer to her, and her eyes followed his every move. Her calculating stare unnerved him. "Naruto, and the rest of my team, could definitely do better. I doubt it helps nervous players-"

"It doesn't help at first," She cut in, almost automatically. "But it helps them build confidence over time. After all, I may be cruel in my methods, but even I go easy sometimes. You need to build them up. You still need to start hard and keep pressing on them, and when the nervous player realizes that the…_abuse_ doesn't change, comfortability will start to settle in. That's when you increase the difficulty, bit by bit, until they don't even realize that they're adapting anymore."

"Wow," After a few moments of processing all that, it was all that he could say. When he didn't say anything after that, Sakura looked to her feet for a moment before looking back up.

"I could show you," She began softly, picking up confidence as she continued. "Let me work a few times with the nervous player-"

"Actually," He almost gulped at the look he received for cutting her off, "I'd rather work with you first, instead of just seeing it. I want to experience this…training for myself, then we'll talk."

She beamed. "Smart," She turned on her heel, back facing him once again, and began to walk off. Harry faltered.

"Wait!" She spun around, eyebrows furrowed. "Why are you helping us? We're on different teams!"

"Like I said," Pink hair was flipped over her shoulder, an intimidating smirk on her face. "I like winning better when the other party actually puts up a good fight."

He blinked, and she was gone.

* * *

"I totally think he likes you."

"He _definitely_ doesn't."

"Yes, he does-"

"When did you pick up gossiping, Tory?" Sakura cut in.

Tory glared at her before standing up and pointing at the pinkette. "_You_. Why are you dressed like that?"

Sakura laid her previous clothes on the table that appeared under her hands. She felt far more comfortable changing with those two in the room as opposed to her _wonderful_ roommates who stared at her as if she was an experiment gone horribly wrong. "Because I'm going to go practice…?"

Tory threw her hands in the air after gesturing to Sakura's loose-fitting navy shirt – Kakashi's – and black spandex shorts – Shizune's. "That's a _horrible_ first date option!"

"You're reading _way too much_ into everything-"

"I'll get to you later, Burke!" Ophelia rolled her eyes, standing up from her spot on the patched couch.

"I'm not even going on a date, ya lunatic!"

"Yeah? Well, _he_ asked _you_!

"That hardly means it's a date!"

"How could you know? It could be our culture, or something!" Sakura chuckled.

"Uhuh, sure. That's exactly what's going on." She shared an amused look with Ophelia. She stood up, the waves of black she wore hung heavy on her frail frame and she interlocked her arm with Tory's.

"While you go practice, I have a project that she needs to do for me."

"Have fun on your _date_!" Tory emphasized, and when they were near the doors to exit the Room of Requirement, she turned around with a wicked smirk on her face. "…with _your Seeker_."

* * *

"You did what was right, Ino." Shikamaru's comforting hand on her shoulder did nothing to shatter her guilt. "It could have been a lot worse. If you didn't get there on time…"

Neji sat in a chair a few feet away from them, all of their eyes on the same body.

The corner of his lips twitched up into a smile, and even in her distressed state, Ino could tell his semblance of a smile reached his eyes.

"The body in front of me would be dead, not simply rendered unconscious to be spared the pain of having their leg amputated in less than ideal conditions." His thumb grazed a tan cheek bone. "You did good, _Tenten_."


	14. Fourteen Shattered Dreams

_A/N: You all are beautiful people. Even you, lurkers. I invite you all in, Sheldon Cooper style. (Big Bang Theory)_

_**Another poll will be up today!**__ It concerns little whimsical one-shots that I'm gonna be doing, Unknown Hero-verse. I already have one planned, and it's a stupid little thing, which is why it/they're not going to be in the actual story (or it's an explanation piece of something). Anyway, it's mostly how I should put them up. I'm leaning towards putting them on the tumblr, because they're just so short. I just wanted to know your thoughts on it, and if you have any suggestions feel free to either private message me, or put it in a review :3_

_I'm very excited about this chapter. It's definitely one of my favorites, and I hope you all like it as well!_

**Unknown Hero**

_Fourteen Shattered Dreams_

Harry swore as a bludger whizzed past his head, missing him by mere inches. He almost lost his grip on the handle, but was able to steady himself before shooting straight upwards towards the snitch.

A bludger was nearing Sakura and she was pouting at the fact that Harry was taking to this training better than she expected. She made a split-second decision, a wild grin stretching across her face.

_BAM!_

The bludger flew at Harry with a speed he'd never seen, or even thought possible, and swerved out of its range, but not quick enough for it scraped his left shoulder. His right hand immediately rested on it, and the snitch was nowhere in sight.

"The _hell_ was that?!" He gasped, trying hopelessly to forget about the pain. It usually didn't hurt this much, but the bludger never went _that fast_ before.

Behind his back, Sakura cracked her knuckles and put the bat back in her hand. After all, he would never guess that she hit that with her fist, and she couldn't help but laugh.

"Why'd you do that?!"

"I've already told you! Do those things on the side of your head not work?" He shot her a look.

"I still don't understand how you hurting me constantly is going to help." The bludger came at him again, and he jerked out of the way. She smiled.

"See? You're learning."

"Are Ravenclaw practices this bad?" She laughed.

"You have no idea."

When they eventually landed, Sakura went to say her goodbyes when he stopped her and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'd like to return the favor."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"You helped me with teaching Quidditch…"

She felt her cheeks heat up a tiny bit. "Oh, okay. Uh…I haven't been to Hogsmeade yet, so why don't we go together on the next trip so you can show me around?"

"Brilliant," He looked down to his feet, "So I'll see you around, I guess." With that, he turned away.

"Yeah," Sakura mumbled, looking away. "See ya,"

* * *

Naruto pressed a hand to his still-pounding chest, taking in deep breaths. Hinata stood beside him, rubbing his back comfortingly.

"I hate him," He panted.

"He does that to everyone, N-Naruto-kun."

Sakura walked through the entrance at that moment, and for the second the door was open, a maniacal laughter ricocheted in Naruto's eardrums, making his narrow his eyes.

"That's it. Before we leave, I'm totally gonna kick his ass!"

"Who, Peeves? I'm pretty sure that's his job."

This only made Naruto grumble under his breath. Hinata snapped her gaze up to her and gave the pinkette and mischievous smile.

"So, how was your date?" Naruto twitched.

"…_Date_? Sakura-chan, you went on a _date_?" He was standing now, his previous anger at Peeves completely forgotten. Sakura held up her hands in defense.

"No, it was nothing of that sort- Hinata, _don't look at me like that_!" When Naruto turned to her, she had the utmost look of innocence on her face. "I was practicing Quidditch with Harry! I was _helping_ him help you lot get better!"

Naruto didn't hear a word of it. "You're not allowed to date. Like, ever."

Sakura paused, before placing a hand on her hip. "Oh, really? You should've informed Gaara about that before." Naruto's jaw dropped.

"_What?! You and Gaara?!_" Hinata couldn't resist rolling her eyes. Sakura successfully took his mind off of it by turning the blame to Gaara…something she truly had no idea if it happened or not. She wouldn't put it past Sakura for either possibility.

She silently thanked the girl, though, as she spent more time with Naruto, after Sakura left, trying to get him to breathe regularly, which consisted of rubbing his back and even holding his hand at one point…in which she almost fainted…twice.

And with Peeves still roaming the hall outside, her and Naruto stayed in the room the entire night.

* * *

He tried to impose Sakura's technique during the next practice, but after Ron's confrontation with Ginny…it only made matters worse.

Ron snapped at everyone and almost gave Harry a black eye.

"The hell are you playing at, Harry?!" Naruto was more than well-versed in dealing with tempers, and he stayed out of Ron's line of vision so he wouldn't suddenly attack him.

"We won't get anywhere without hard work!" Harry was in front of Ron, nearly nose to nose.

"What? I'm not working hard at all? Is that it?"

"Your playing is fine! It's your attitude that's ruining you!"

"_My attitude_?"

"Oh shut it, Ron!" Ginny shouted, flying beside Dean. Harry tried not to look at her.

"That's it, I'm done with this joke of a team!"

"So you're going to quit, just like that?" Harry's voice was half between a yell and a plead.

"_Coward!_" Even though none of this concerned him, Naruto gripped the handle of his broom tighter.

He had a sudden flashback to when he was a child, being yelled at by everyone and told he wasn't worth it, that he should just quit and die. It didn't quite relate to the situation, but he felt for the boy.

His eyes were locked on the ground, his lips pressed in a solemn line. They were all yelling, now, everyone but him.

His sister was the worst, though. He could even hear her voice break, and she was shaking. From his stand point, there were some unresolved brother-sister issues, but what did he know?

"Ron," Everyone immediately shut up, even though his voice was nearly a whisper. "Don't sell yourself short. You can do this."

Harry breathed out a sigh of relief as Ron seemed calm again, and he called for practice to resume for a few more minutes, hoping to see an improvement in Ron's playing.

But no such luck.

After narrowly missing a goal, Ron got worked up again and more yelling ensued.

He, Ron, Ginny, and Dean were the last to stay on the pitch, for the Weasley siblings were screaming at each other, and Naruto left frustrated as well.

Of course, he'd always been able to deal with tremendous pressure – it was in the job description – but he'd never really been around such arguing. The only arguing he'd heard was between Sakura and Sai, but it was mostly on Sakura's part due to Sai's lacking social skills.

Was this even normal?

He momentarily regretted joining the team.

* * *

He was desperate, _so desperate_…

This had to work. His other plan was coming along very slowly, and panic ran through his veins. It was not good, not good at all…

He hated it, but he made the decision to skip the first Quidditch game of the season, even though it was against Potter. It was tough, but he needed the time. It was the perfect distraction.

His back was pressed against the wall, hoping to blend in with the shadows.

When a flash of pink passed through his peripheral, he nearly ran.

"Hey, H- Sakura," She raised a brow.

"What's up Draco? …And why aren't you in your Quidditch gear?"

"Long story. Listen, I need your…" He swallowed hard, "_help_ with something." The word was almost a whisper.

Her eyes widened, and then she furiously nodded her head. "Of course. What is it?"

He jerked his head. "Follow me," She trailed behind him, her brain wracking for what he could possibly want. Was he going to try to force her to give up how she knew what she did? Was she actually going to get an insight as to what he was planning?

She didn't know what to expect when he led her to the Room of Requirement.

When they stepped inside, there was only a table with two chairs sitting in the middle of the room. He grabbed a book from his bag, and sat across from her.

"I told the team I was sick, which is why we're here." He motioned to the room, and she nodded. He didn't want anyone else to know that he was lying.

"You're good with potions." It was a statement, and she shrugged.

"I guess. Why?"

"I need your help with something." His fingers fumbled as he tried to flip to the correct, dog-eared page in a journal, and then a book of potion ingredients. "Have you ever heard of this potion?"

Sakura mentally cursed. Of course, her only clue was a potion name! If he was asking about it, it was probably a Hogwarts-restricted one, and she wouldn't be able to find out what it was. But she still narrowed her eyes, examining his hand writing.

_Pateo Dolus._

"I've never heard of that one…what's it do?"

He shook his head. "That doesn't matter. It's just something I wanted to learn, because Hogwarts refuses to teach something like it. It apparently goes against their morals." She could've laughed. He was trying to appeal to her 'barbaric' side, wasn't he?

"So, what do you want me to do?"

He rested his chin in his palm, giving her a lazy smirk. "I don't suppose you're in possession of Vampire's Bite Puss?"

She wrinkled her nose. Oh, _that's_ what that icky jar was that she bought in the potion shop. It was a purpley-yellow color, and the only marking on the jar was a sort of symbol, most likely to take away from the contents of the jar.

"I suppose I could be. But what do I get out of this exchange?" The corners of his lips tilted up even more.

"I don't suppose you already have a guest for Slughorn's party?"

She raised a brow. "You want to go because you weren't invited, not to save me from embarrassment."

She was good, he'd give her that. But he had to admit that she was much better company than Pansy, and it was more enjoyable to use his charm on her. "Maybe I just want to go with you?"

She laughed. "Maybe I'll ignore your proposition, if only for the satisfaction of seeing you squirm. Come up with something better, and then we'll talk." Once again, she patted him on the cheek and turned her back on him, walking out of the room with her head held high.

Behind her, he placed his chin on his intertwined fingers.

She was much more difficult to crack than expected. He was used to females going along with him – he could be _incredibly_ charming when he wanted to.

He just needed more time to think, and a better strategy, before the ingredient would be his.

* * *

"SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto's yell was deafening, and both kunoichi cringed. Naruto stood outside the door to the common room, where the girls could hear loud cheering coming from inside. "YOU MISSED THE MATCH!"

"I'll tell you later," She waved him off, "but I think I can guess that you guys won."

Beside her, Hinata nodded. "N-Naruto-kun was amazing!"

"I can imagine! But I'll be at your next one, I promise!" She grinned, encircling him in a tight hug. "Now go celebrate!"

He paused for a second, looking to the portrait hole, then back to them. "But you wouldn't be able to join me."

"No, but t-this is for your t-team!"

"Yeah, you should join them. For now, at least. We'll celebrate afterwards." Naruto recognized the look on her face and was immediately scandalized.

"How do you have _sake_?!"

She shrugged. "Shishou," Hinata laughed.

They didn't even see Hermione walk past them until she hurriedly ran out, Harry quickly behind her, and after a minute or so, Ron and some girl.

The shinobi could _feel_ the tension that radiated off them, even though they were a decent distance away in the nearest unlocked classroom.

"I'll take that offer," Naruto decided after the awkward silence. They had heard everything that occurred, and they were all unsure how to resume their own conversation.

With a quick hug, Naruto went inside the common room to forget what just happened and laugh alongside his fellow teammates.

"I'll see you later, S-Sakura-chan," Hinata smiled, and was off to her own common room, to undoubtedly hang out with Justin and Eric. From what Sakura had seen of them, they were almost like her Shino and Kiba, and she was their replacement for Hannah.

Upon thinking about 'replacements', a pang of sadness surged through her and she remembered her own broken team.

Sai replaced Sasuke. Yamato replaced Kakashi…well, temporarily.

It still hurt. It hurt _a lot_.

A part of her deep, deep down knew she still cared for Sasuke. Not love, but care.

She knew Naruto still wanted to save him, that he was trying to forget about him while on this mission, maybe even that when they return, he and Kakashi will greet them, just like old times…

But the old times had past them at the speed of light, and things were never going to be the same. They all changed, no matter how much it _hurt_-

"Sakura?" She completely forgot that she was still standing in front of the Gryffindor common room. She gave a nervous laugh.

"H-Hi Harry," She gave him an awkward wave. "I was just leaving-"

"Are you okay?" His voice was so full of concern that she nearly broke right in front of him. No matter how much she tried to repress the tears over the years, she still always broke.

"No," She felt so small – not height-wise, which she already lacked –…it was quite an odd feeling. The word had been forced out of her, as if someone had wrung and squeezed her body until it came out and then threw her on the ground, gasping for air and aching all over.

He already felt horrible, and he just wanted to lie down and forget this night had ever happened…but how could he when Sakura was near to tears in front of him? He disregarded her weak attempts at protest at moving as he led her back to the same room he'd previously been in, which was still filled to the brim with the tension of his two best friends.

He didn't ask what happened. He was never too good with this sort of thing, so he simply rubbed her back as she cried into his shoulder. Her finger nails dug into his skin, and he knew for sure that the indent would be there for about a week.

But it didn't matter. She'd become a friend of his, he supposed.

It was weird how simple class-related interactions turned into conversations, and then Quidditch…and now he was here, an arm draped across her shoulder and she was clutching him as if he were a lifeline.

It was almost time to head in, and she seemed to sense this. She sat up straight and pressed the heel of her palms into her eyes, taking deep breaths. She waved her wand over his soaked shoulder, the tears drying up instantly.

"I'm sorry," Her voice was still shaky, but it wasn't as bad as before. She hated herself for breaking down like that…but she'd always been a slave to her emotions.

"Don't worry about-" She placed a gentle kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you," He was speechless. His heart beat fast, and he didn't know why he kind of-sort of liked her; he'd practically just met her!

It was either the adrenaline coursing through his veins from the victory, or the desire to erase all the irritation and negativity of the past few days that made him kiss her.

But he had no idea what made her kiss him back.

* * *

She felt weak. Everyone told her she wasn't, that she was amazing at what she could do, but she couldn't believe it. Not after what happened with Tenten.

She felt helpless.

With a bitter laugh, she realized this is what it must've felt like for Sakura as a genin surrounded by her powerful teammates.

Even once they became friends again, she secretly felt superior, since she was more on par with her own teammates. But that didn't help now, did it?

Sure, she trained a little as a medic nin, but she was far from being on par to Shizune, or even Sakura and Tsunade. And it made her feel even worse.

Forehead did beat her after all.

She sank to her knees in her bathroom, nails scraping at the tile wall. In that moment, she decided she would be better at medical ninjutsu.

While she saved Tenten's life, she took her _leg_.

Because of Ino's inexperience, Tenten would never be a full-fledged kunoichi again.

She vowed to never do that again. The next time she was needed, she would be able to save more than someone's life. She would make them whole again, and she didn't care if she died doing it.

There was a heavy weight on her shoulder and it was crushing her with each breath she took.

It was too much…way too much…

* * *

"This," He was panting from running down the hall to catch her, "I offer you this. And this. And this."

She was equally out of breath, but it was because his gifts took her breath away.

The few students that were in the hall stared at them, and the three levitating boxes trailing behind Draco.

The first two were filled with delights that she _sorely_ missed, and she was greatly surprised that this food existed here as well. Just looking at it was making her mouth water.

Her hands trembled as the held out the contents of the third box.

"Draco…you didn't…" He flashed her a million-dollar smile.

"I figured you'd like it."

She looked at the object lovingly, and it took a few minutes to take her gaze away from it. And when she did, she sighed. "Fine! I'll give it to you. On two conditions!" He nodded anxiously. "I'll accept your previous offer as well, about Slughorn's party on the second condition."

He decided that her grin was terrifying.

"You shall answer to 'slave' during the party."

If he didn't need the _damn_ ingredient so much… "Fine," He grumbled, and she nearly jumped for joy.


	15. Troublemaker

_A/N: For everyone who wasn't too into the HarryxSakura of last chapter…I said no matter the ending pairing, both pairing would be getting attention, remember? ;D_

_Also, I've completely given up the way I wrote the chapter titles and I'm going to switch it to how I planned on doing the sequel's._

_(Two extra notes: 1. I'm posting this at midnight...so once I get home from work I'll re-read for spelling errors. 2. Vote on the new poll! :3)_

**Unknown Hero**

**Chapter Fifteen**

_Troublemaker_

"_It's like you're always there in the corners of my mind, I see your silhouette every time I close my eyes. There must be poison in those finger tips of yours, 'cause I keep coming back for more." – Olly Murs_

She felt like a princess. As soon as she stepped into the room, everyone seemed to stop talking and turn to stare in awe. She could _feel_ Draco smirking as they moved gracefully across the floor, arm in arm.

He had bought her the most stunning mint green dress she'd ever seen.

It was strapless and made entirely of silk, and it draped down and ended right above her knees. Her short hair had a soft wave to it and was pinned to the side. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this beautiful.

Sure, it was only because he wanted to go to Slughorn's party for one reason or another, but he was mad if he thought she was going to return it to him.

Draco didn't look half bad either; turns out, he cleaned up pretty well, and it was evident to the other girls as well.

"Sakura, darling!" Slughorn nearly pushed his way through the crowd to greet them, and his eyes had widened when he noticed her date.

"My, my, what an unexpected couple! Nevertheless, I am pleased as punch that you made it, Sakura." He threw in a fake smile at the end, "Of course, you too Malloy-"

"I'd like to introduce you to my slave," Draco lightly kicked her leg – not even registering Slughorn's butchering of his surname-, but it hardly affected her. Instead, she dug her short nails into his arm, in the precise spot she knew would hurt the most. He almost yelped.

Slughorn laughed, belly shaking as he did so. "Quite the sense of humor you have. Now, I'd like to introduce you to a few people…" He practically dragged her over to dozens of people, who immediately wanted to touch her hair while asking if it was real, and asking all about Japan.

One man – whose name she didn't care about – who had a _vampire_ as a guest (she shouldn't have been surprised; she was in a school of _witches_ and _wizards_…why _wouldn't_ there be vampires?) and he was a writer. He wouldn't stop talking about how famous he could make her if she talked about her barbaric school and he wrote a book about it.

As soon as she found Hinata and Naruto, Draco seemed to disappear.

Hinata had suggested to Naruto that they should go together…and he agreed. They were arm in arm as well, and the girl was the only one in the room who Sakura thought looked just as good as herself.

Hinata's hair was in bouncy curls, and she wore a navy blue one-shouldered dress with an off-white braided belt cinching her natural waist. She kept sneaking glances at Naruto, who seemed oblivious as always.

But her gaze switched to Sakura once she saw Harry start walking towards them. While Hinata didn't drink much sake, watching Sakura and Naruto stumble around was entertaining enough…until Sakura spilled how she and Harry had kissed. Naruto had no memory of it, but Sakura did.

And the Hyuuga wasn't above exploiting it.

"Oh S-Sakura, Harry's coming. Aren't you going to g-give him a special g-greeting?" The wicked smile on her face wasn't unseen by both of them, and while Naruto was trying to figure out what just happened, Sakura was glaring at the girl with such intensity that her gaze could've been enough to make Hinata drop dead.

"I hate you," She seethed, before immediately switching to a grand smile when Harry joined them. "Hi, Harry," He nodded at all of them before he locked onto her.

"Can we talk?"

It was the first time they'd talk since the kiss and, to be honest, Sakura was kinda-sorta dreading it. She wanted to just forget it ever happened, even though she had developed a soft spot for the so-called 'Chosen One'.

"Of course," She gave them a small wave before following Harry to a less-crowded area, all the while her lips were pressed together and all her muscles were tense.

She had the greatest urge to punch something.

"So, I'm confused." She hadn't even realized that they stopped and he was right in front of her, green eyes boring into her own. "We kissed. And now…now you're here with _Malfoy_-"

"As friends." She cut in, gooseflesh covering her skin. "He wanted to come and attempt to impress Slughorn or something."

Harry was silent, as if trying to piece something together. And it took a little less than a minute, her staring at him and him staring at his shoes, for him to respond somehow. But when he did, Filch burst through the door, pushing Draco inside.

"Professor Slughorn!" Sakura pursed her lips at him; he seemed a little too happy to have caught a student. It reminded her of herself, really…her old self. Always so eager to please Sasu- she forcibly closed her eyes and tried to erase where her thoughts were going. She didn't need to break again tonight.

"I discovered this boy lurking in an upstairs corridor. He claims to have been invited to your party, but had to step outside for a moment. Did you issue him with an invitation?"

Slughorn waved a fat hand. "He's the sla- guest of Miss Haruno," He hurriedly corrected himself, turning a light shade of pink. "He is in no trouble at all, Argus."

Filch's face contorted into something akin to pain, and Sakura crinkled her nose. Of course, he would use the permission to be out at this time of night to sneak up to the Room of Requirement…

"He's like a puppy, I swear," She glared at him, before turning to Harry apologetically…but not really. "I'll see you later, Harry." She quickly turned on her heel and maneuvered her way to Draco who seemed to be in a starting contest with Snape.

She gripped her arm and, with the feeling of a mother hen, she brought him to the secluded area she and Harry had just occupied. "_What_ do you think you're doing? You're so _stupid_. I don't even know _why_ you wanted to roam the halls but-"

"Oh, shut it." Every muscle in her body seemed to freeze, with the one exception of the twitching of her left eye.

"What…did you just…say?" He looked back to her, eyes wide.

"I…uhm…"

Her hand was on his wrist within a second, clenching like a vice grip. "Be cautious, Draco," She didn't really mean for that to come out in a hiss, or her eyes to be narrowed into slits to give her a snake-like appearance…but it apparently scared him enough to apologize.

He must be extremely afraid of Voldemort to start shaking like that _without_ even knowing her true strength and potential.

But she wasn't done with him yet. "I may not know what that potion does," She spoke in a harsh whisper, even though she had her hand clenching his bicep and he was already close to her. "But, by the ingredient, I _know_ it's not something a Hogwarts student should be mixing in their cauldron. If you _ever_ try that shit again with me, you'll be expelled before you can even blink. And that's a promise."

"Miss Haruno," Her harsh gaze snapped to him. "I'd hate to rip your date from you, because it looks to be going along _swimmingly_, but I need to talk with Mister Malfoy."

"But Professor, we were just getting to the good part." She hadn't yet removed her hand, and she knew her hand imprint would be there for a few days, at the very least.

Snape gave her an unimpressed look. "Nevertheless, I must speak with him. _Now_."

He put his hand at Draco's back, nearly ripping the boy from her grip. She gave them a dainty wave before rejoining her own friends.

* * *

Harry saw Malfoy and Snape leave the party. Despite both walking side by side of their own accord, Draco looked _pissed_, and Snape indifferent as always.

It seemed fishy.

He left Luna with Professor Trelawny – not that either noticed – and once he was out of Slughorn's office, he pulled his Invisibility Cloak over himself and desperately began searching for the shady pair. He found them in the last class room of the corridor, and he eagerly pressed his ear beside the keyhole.

"…cannot afford mistakes, Draco, because if you are expelled –"

"I didn't have anything to do with it, all right?!"

"_Keep your voice down_!" Snape's voice made his own skin crawl, and he could only imagine the expression the man had, or if he was gripping Malfoy's shoulders as he'd often done to himself when he was yelling at him for one reason or another. "I hope you are telling the truth, because it was both clumsy and foolish. Already you are suspected of having a hand in it." In an instant, he knew they were talking about Katie Bell. He regretted accusing Malfoy in front of Snape, but then again, he wouldn't have heard this conversation if he didn't.

"Who suspects me?" His voice was lower this time, but Malfoy was still annoyed. With his hushed tone, Harry could still hear him decently enough, but he wished that he knew a spell to increase their volume.

As they continued talking, Malfoy increasingly getting angrier and Snape continuously offering him assistance, a dangerous thought struck him and wouldn't leave him alone.

"–I'm not alone!"

"You were certainly alone tonight –" He swore he heard Malfoy laugh at that.

They talked on for a few more minutes, and he _knew_ he heard Snape say something about an 'Unbreakable Vow' before he heard Malfoy's footsteps approach the door along with his haughty voice: "–now if you'll excuse me, _Professor_, I have to get back to my date!"

Snape snorted, and Harry's jaw clenched, but only until the door flung open – seconds after he nearly jumped out of the way – and Malfoy almost strutted back to Slughorn's party, head held high, as if he'd just won a prize.

After Snape also returned to the party, when he was able to breathe again, the idea that'd entered his mind during the conversation pounded at his temples.

* * *

"Sorry I had to leave, pumpkin," Sakura had been laughing with Hinata at Naruto's expense when Draco re-appeared at her side, giving the other pair a nod of acknowledgement. She glared at him for the name, but he expertly ignored it and instead looked to her friends. "Can I steal her for a moment?" He wasn't asking for permission, but merely stating what he was going to do politely.

He gently gripped her elbow and led her away again, but now it was outside the party, to the closest end of the corridor that had large windows overlooking the darkened school grounds. He leaned against the side as she stared at him.

"What are you playing at?" He raised a perfect eyebrow. "First, you _piss_ me off. Now you're trying to play the gentleman. It's weird, and you're _clearly_ trying to get something out of me."

He gave her a charming smile, glanced over his shoulder – apparently to look back to the party – before advancing towards her.

"I can't figure you out," She rolled her eyes. "You act dangerous, but I can tell you're harmless."

She was quite offended. She gave a loud, hallow laugh before roughly grabbing the front of his shirt. "Honey, this isn't an act. My temperament only depends on how I'm treated and quite frankly, _pumpkin_, you deserve my mean side."

He was playing some sort of game with her. She was usually on point with figuring out motive, but right now she was utterly clueless. He was acting like a caged animal, exploiting every point that may be an advantage, but ultimately finding none. It was sort of sad…but the uncertainty of what he was willing to do scared her.

She wasn't thinking about the mission, even though the mission was _the_ most important thing. All of her training told her that. But socializations for the mission were tricky and what had been set in stone for the mission was crumbling away in the heat of the moment, because she wasn't going to let some _wizard_ feel _scared_.

The tension was at its breaking point, and she _knew_ he could feel it too. He was either going to drop his charming act and get down to business or face her wrath, or they were going to keep up with their false pleasantries and he would eventually face her wrath.

And him suddenly grabbing her waist with one hand and her chin with the other and _kiss her_ was completely out of her calculations. But it happened.

She wasn't completely sure of how to react. The mission re-entered her mind and she didn't know if she should kiss him back to keep their…'friendship'…or push him away to remind him that she wasn't a piece of meat and was to be respected.

Whatever her decision was to be, before she could react properly, he released her and was walking back to what seemed to be the Slytherin common room. She was left to stand there, baffled, in his wake.

* * *

He was an absolutely _genius_. He'd seen the way Potter looked at her when they entered together, and when he'd left for the Room of Requirement, he saw how quickly Potter ran over to her.

It was a lucky guess for him when after Snape pulled him aside and he returned to Sakura and he couldn't see Potter anywhere that he thought he was under his blanket or whatever it was.

And after the stint in the Hogwarts Express, he thought he might try to follow him…and he was right. He'd pulled Sakura aside before he even realized Potter was missing, and only had his suspicions after they were by the window and he _knew_ he heard something akin to footsteps under the ruckus of the party.

He originally hadn't planned to kiss her, but it felt so _right_- in the sense that Potter was watching, of course. No other reason at all.

But now that he created the storm, he was going back to his room to think hard on his next course of action. He wanted to sort out his thoughts and plans – but not feelings of course, because he couldn't afford to have _that_ hindrance – so he didn't become caught in the crossfire.

* * *

This was not happening. He refused to believe it. What he feared had seemed to come to light right before his eyes.

Ron and Hermione wouldn't believe him. They never seemed to these days.

They wouldn't believe that he _knew_ Snape was offering to help Malfoy, and not just to find out what he was up to. Even less so would they even indulge in his new thought, and his new fear.

Sakura was just using him. And that wasn't even the worst of it.

She was in with Malfoy. Sure, in his conversation with Snape his suggestions of having accomplices were guided towards Crabbe and Goyle…Malfoy made it seem as if he wasn't alone tonight.

And that could only mean that she was also in his pocket.

And…it _hurt_. He liked Sakura…a lot more than he could imagine.

Especially when he saw her and Malfoy kiss.

They shared their own kiss _last night_. Only _the previous night_.

He couldn't go back to the party, he couldn't go back to Luna and apologize for disappearing so much.

He couldn't go back to see Sakura laughing with her friends, Malfoy on her mind. Not with Ginny and Dean also inside.

Why did he always lose _everything_? What _the hell_ did he ever do to deserve any of this?

* * *

Seeing as Dumbledore was away for the time being, McGonagall had to escort them back to the Leaky Cauldron, where they'd be staying over the summer. The innkeeper, Tom, had been thrilled. They, however, had already started to miss Hogwarts a bit…and their usual training grounds there.

But Sakura was in a bit of a different situation.

She realized about two seconds after Draco began walking away that Harry was also in the corridor watching them, and that was why Draco kissed her.

To give him the ingredient outside of Hogwarts, he invited her to the mansion – to which she pushed inviting her friends as well – over the break.

While Naruto and Hinata were downstairs getting food from Tom, Sakura pressed the heel of her palms into her eyes, lips pressed together, as she tried not to cry out from frustration. Or break someone's neck.

She almost wished Death Eaters attacked. That way, she could take out her anger and maybe even make Harry less upset.

She could hear him in the classroom that he had held himself up in, arms wrapped around his knees, the weight of the world crushing his shoulders.

He'd lost so much…he'd been through _hell_…yet people still terrorized him.

She was terrorizing him.

And she hated it. She wanted to comfort him like he did her the previous night, but any civility between them had been lost.

As much as she had wanted to kiss Draco back…she needed to know his true motives.

Seeing him over the break would be their make or break point, something she decided as soon as she stepped back into the party.

Her heart had never been torn before. She had feelings for people one at a time, she couldn't do duality. It wasn't in her nature. Sure, they weren't strong feelings…but they were _there_.

And, being far away from the distractions of both Konoha and Hogwarts, they demanded to be felt.

_And they hurt._


	16. Bury Me Alive

_A/N: I'VE FAILED YOU. I'VE FAILED YOU ALL. I'M SO SORRY. But I've literally had no muse whatsoever. I've been pretty depressed over the summer, and that hasn't been remedied as I returned to college…as all of my best friends have transferred and I'm alone. So between eating my feelings and crying myself to sleep…I give you the long-awaited next chapter!_

_(But before I do that, remember how I mentioned earlier doing non-sensical one-shots? Yeah, I scrapped that. HOWEVER. I'll have a series of one-shots following the song "This Is War" by 30 Seconds To Mars, which within the song gives titles, such as 'The soldier', and there are 11 in total (as I'm not counting 'the good and the evil', as they're too generic.) Anywho! I'll be posting a short collection with 11 chapters in total to focus on each title and what character I feel embodies them for this story. It won't be a set theme: it will be short snippets explaining something in their life, hopefully showing their chosen title. It won't be a necessary read and won't include any plot-points, but will mostly just be flashbacks that I didn't feel I could put in the story without going off-pace. Only one will be posted during this story, and the others will be written and posted once the sequels up. I'll be posting it hopefully near the end of this story, and it will most likely be called "This Is War". Oh, and the first title to be explored will be _The Leader_ :D)_

_And yes, I did change my penname (:_

_And 101bubbly was the 100th reviewer! :D_

**Unknown Hero**

**Chapter Sixteen**

_Bury Me Alive_

"_I watched you let yourself die, now it's too late to save you this time...too consumed by your own emptiness and lies…I can't let you fool me, I won't need you again." – We Are The Fallen_

The three of them appeared a generous distance from their destination to avoid arising suspicion. Grandeur aside, the mansion seemed…cold.

They knew it would be a 'friendly' visit, since the only threat they could happen upon wouldn't be visiting today due to Draco's word, but a slight part of them wished she would appear and some action could slither into their lives finally.

It'd been too long since they were able to _really_ train, too long-

But that didn't matter now. Their mission would be generously along after this meeting. While the entirety of the mission didn't rely on it…it would still be a very valuable asset to them.

The walk seemed to last an eternity, all three eager to both see inside the mansion and to finally piece together parts of the mission. But Sakura could barely contain her own excitement, as she would finally get a leg up on Draco. Sure, she was always a step ahead of them…save for the night of Slughorn's party.

She was still _pissed_ about that. She'd gotten over the sadness fairly quickly, and instead turned it to rage, something she was rather fond of showing. But sadly, seeing as he was a wizard, she couldn't take it out on him physically. It would have to be a mental game, something she was also rather good at, if she said so herself. It didn't bring as much joy, but it would have to do.

Feelings-wise…she had no clue where her head and heart were at, and they seemed to be in two different places. On one side, she wanted to strangle Draco…and she was sure Harry hated her now.

She could see Hinata's studious face out of the corner of her eye. She didn't tell either of them what had happened, but they knew something drastically changed with Draco.

But that didn't matter now. She would feign for the sake of the mission…for the moment, anyway.

* * *

He precariously sat nestled in the thinning limbs of one of the distant trees, watching the small-as-ants citizens carry on their daily routines, completely unaware of the danger around them.

For one single moment, one split second, he let dark eyes flash to a certain section, a certain corner, that once held significance to him.

It was abandoned as it had been since it happened, and it seemed to call him, beckon him over…

And he relented.

What was the harm?

He wouldn't be found, and if that ever happened – and the chances were statistically impossible – he could swiftly and silently dispose of the unlucky ones within the same breath.

He retained no sentiment for the place, but it was merely an opportunity, he supposed. An irony, that this would be the location for which he marked his return, especially with his brother not too far away, bound in the same village gates.

If he still felt trivial things such as emotions anymore, he might've even felt pity, as he knew what was happening to him, or even for the lowly citizens of Konoha, who were in complete ignorance of the fact that not only was one Uchiha brother close…they were both about to be excruciatingly close to them.

But he felt nothing anymore for its shinobi. If they were skilled, they would be able to sense him, recognize the Sharingan eyes through twisted branches and broken glass; their ignorance must be bliss.

He would wait for the opportune moment to strike, to complete his objective…and his brother was the trigger for that, but his bigger goal would take some time. While he wasn't too keen on being patient…he'd been waiting for much longer, and he could bear to hang in for a few months.

It would all be worth it in the end.

* * *

She'd woken up in a blindingly white room, a myriad of colored boxes piled up in front of the bed. A figure was hunched at her side, body twisted at unnatural angles, head laying on their arm with their eyes pressed shut.

Her mind was blurry, but she could recognize Neji by the way his eyes flickered underneath his eyelids, as if he expected to still see his surroundings under the guise of the darkness of sleep. She smiled.

In that simple action, everything came back.

The war. Their victory. The pain in her le- what was left of her thigh. Her fingers ghosted against the wrappings, staring in cold disbelief at the stump that remained. She could never properly walk again.

She could never be a kunoichi again.

It hit her like a ton of bricks, freezing her in place and chilling her bones, but her skin felt like it was on fire. Her other leg only slightly twitched, but the motion triggered the sensors the nurses had placed. Shizune appeared in a flash, waking Neji, and they were at her side in an instant, enveloping each of her hands.

"How are you? Are you in much pain?" Shizune's other hand scanned over her leg, chakra visibly searching for any irregularities. After a small smile, she then turned her examinations on the rest of her body. "Everything is normal."

Neji gave her a nod of thanks, but Tenten couldn't help but laugh.

Nothing about this was normal. Nothing would ever be _normal_ again. It was a cruel irony that she would face for the rest of her life, and she _hated it_.

Shizune exchanged a look with Neji before exiting as swiftly as she came in, and Neji enveloped both of her hands.

"Did you see all of your presents?"

"Presents?" She looked back to the boxes. "Christmas passed a few days ago. Do you want to open them?" A warm feeling spread through her chest. Neji was being incredibly nice…it was a good change of pace from his normal stoicism. Though he'd always been different with her.

"There's so many…" Her brows were furrowed. How could so many people afford to buy her presents, especially after the war?

"Actually, most of these are from Ino."

Ino.

Tears immediately sprang to her eyes. Oh Ino…

She realized that it was a nearly impossible task to ask of Ino. While an incredible kunoichi in her own right, she wasn't a hardened medic yet. And asking her to cut off the leg of one of her good friends probably wasn't the best starting point…but it had to be done.

And it made her realize that she wasn't alone in this. Ino was just as scarred as she was, but for different reasons. She was scarred and guilty and desperate to make it up to her, starting with a plethora of presents that she didn't need to buy.

Neji watched the pain flash across her face with a look of sadness. He felt bad, _so so bad_, that this happened to her…

But it was the life of a shinobi, wasn't it?

Though some missions and some days didn't seem like it, in reality, they put their lives on the line constantly often without even thinking about it, or even just fearing death.

Because killing was always the objective of their foe. An enemy shinobi never wished to only cut off an arm or a leg…no. They aimed to kill, and shinobi are groomed to expect this and combat this. And a loss of limb is welcomed in comparison to death…but it still wasn't a favored outcome.

He picked up the first of Tenten's gifts, which happened to be one of a few from himself, and gently placed it on her lap.

He gave a semblance of a smile. "All the others will pale in comparison to this, but you deserve the best first."

She bit the inside of her cheek in hopes it prevented the flush that was rising to her cheeks.

* * *

His mother had answered the door, even though he'd just been halfway down the stairs to get to them. He'd told her about them, _all_ about them, and she'd relented. Besides, she could hardly say no to him in the first place.

He had to admit, though, he was quite terrified of seeing Sakura. She scared him more than he cared to think about, which is why he let her friends come along. After all, he couldn't even think of _why_ they needed to be here, but since there was no evidence of Death Eaters in his house – well, no immediate evidence, and the dungeons had been sealed off with a series of charms so they couldn't possibly find it.

He only heard the heel of his mother's shoes click against the wooden floors as she lead them to where he was. Thankfully, his mother gave him a nod of her head and walked upstairs, giving them privacy.

Sakura smiled. "Nice to see you, Draco," It sent chills down his spine. It whole heartedly sounded innocent…but at the same time, he could almost _taste_ the layer of invisible malice that laced her words.

"You too," He gave a curt nod to Naruto and Hinata, before focusing his attention back on her. "You have it, right?"

She gave a laugh. "Of course I do! That was the deal, wasn't it?" She pulled the container from her pocket, setting it upright in her palm.

He thought he saw a smirk flash on her lips, but it was gone in an instant. "Here you go!" She gave it to him, and he turned it around in his hands. Vampire's Bite Puss.

Everything was in order now.

But he wasn't really sure what to do with Sakura and her friends now. Would it be rude to just kick them out? Probably.

"We're having lunch in a bit if-"

"Aren't you going to start it?" She cut him off. His eyebrows furrowed.

"What? Lunch?" He snorted. "That's for the house elves-"

"No, the potion." He froze. She smiled.

"Well, I don't need it now…and it's rather easy-"

"Really?" He took a step back, the railing of the marble staircase digging into his back.

"Well, yes-"

"How come I don't believe you?"

"I don't need you to believe me." She took a step forward, eyes narrowed with a smile on her face.

"Are you _sure_ about that?"

"I…" He gulped, "why are you so intent on this?!"

She gently trailed her fingers down his cheek, a gleam in her eyes. "Why did you need to kiss me in front of Harry?"

He squirmed in place, _feeling_ his face drain of color. "_Fine_. I'll make it now."

She gave him a blinding smile, tapping his cheek. _Good boy_.

* * *

Her breath caught in her throat before she threw the book across the room. A soft knock was on her door in a second, a quiet "Ino?" ringing out.

Ino didn't answer. Her body was trembling, and she didn't trust her voice for a second.

It took a few minutes for her mother to walk away, but once she did, rage consumed her.

Rage at that _stupid_ medical book. Rage at Danzou. Rage at Root. Rage at herself.

She stared down the infernal thing that was harmlessly leaning against the wall, willing it to disappear in an instant.

It mocked her. It mocked her inept skills, her lacking training, her weak mind…

Her chest ached. Her mind raced. An image of Tenten walking to the market, supported by both crutches and her teammates at either side flashed through her mind.

She cried out.

This time, Inoichi's heavy footsteps raced up the stairs and to her room. He didn't knock – he broke the lock and wrapped her in a tight embrace.

She clutched her father, shoving her face in the crook of his neck, soaking his vest.

Her knuckles had gone white, but it didn't matter. She'd been hiding inside herself for too long, and as far as Inoichi was concerned, he was much happier hugging her until her tears ran out than knowing she was dying on the inside and trying to remain a calm façade on the outside.

He'd sit there, day and night, soothingly running his fingers through his daughter's hair, kissing her head, and being the anchor that she needed. Because she was his world, and he didn't want to lose her.

* * *

It was the moment of truth. The ingredients she memorized were at the forefront of her mind. It had been difficult, but the previous say she'd found the ingredients, but she was still blind as to what it did.

As Draco intently stirred the potion – he didn't ask for any assistance in anything but handing him 'that vial over there', careful not to reveal the ingredients – she mentally recorded all of the actions and reactions, the stirring count…_everything_ relating to this potion.

After nearly three hours – with only a break for lunch, in which he ordered a house elf to do the correct stirrings for them – it was time to add the puss. They were to add it very slowly and at an angle.

Sakura paused.

Naruto and Hinata were in position, forgotten about long ago by Draco.

He tipped the container, his hand nearly shaking. As soon as the first clump landed in the off-white liquid, a purple-grey gas immediately spouted into the air.

Draco fell to the floor. Sakura disappeared in a cloud of smoke, the real one dropping from the ceiling alongside Naruto and Hinata.

She gave a deadly smile.

* * *

He splashed water on his face, rubbing at his sore eyes.

He was utterly exhausted. At the Burrow, he'd witnessed a plethora of arguments between Ron and Ginny, and in between them Ron kept making sure that Harry heard Snape right, and that he was _sure_ Draco and Sakura had kissed.

It was killing him.

Most days, when Mrs. Weasley wasn't on the prowl, he was in Ron's room, avoiding Ginny and avoiding Ron's questions.

He hated Sakura, he was sure of it.

She played him. He didn't know what Draco's motive was, but he had her play him from the start. She was on his side all along, and he didn't have a clue about it.

He didn't know how he'd gotten her on his side so quickly or what was in it for her…yes, there were many loop-holes, but it made sense. His gut told him so. But he wanted to sort out his thoughts before he brought this to Hermione, as she would surely try to discourage this.

He slipped his glasses back on with a sigh.

He could never have a normal year, could he?

* * *

He nearly fell out of bed, heart threatening to beat out of his chest.

Slate grey curtains were shut, somehow still allowing faint speckles of light into the room. He tore them to the side, the sun setting in the distance.

He cursed. He didn't know if what happened actually occurred, but he was tempted to explode anyway.

But the dream…the dream he had _terrified_ him. It couldn't be real.

He wouldn't believe it. They weren't…_monsters_.

They couldn't – no one could – perform magic without a wand.

It wasn't possible to have clones of yourself pop out of nowhere...especially not a _hundred of them_.

"_Everyone search for it!" He was in a cold sweat, the clones bustling around him, looking for something._

He must've imagined those eyes…

"_Byuakugan!" She looked right through him, making a chill run through his spine._

None of it could be real.

_She gently touched his cheek with one hand while uprooting a tree with her other. A green diamond etched itself onto her forehead._

"_You can tell me Draco. It's okay." His throat closed up, eyes wide._

"_Don't make me…" She snapped the tree in half, "break you."_

His body shook on its own accord, and he heard his mother at his door.

"Draco? Are you feeling better?" He stared at the floor. "Your teachings at the school are horrible. Honestly. What self-respecting teacher would make their students work so hard on a difficult potion to the point where they _collapse_? Now, if Severus was still the teacher…"

He'd stopped listening to her. His eyes were nearly out of his skull. _The potion._

He flung the door open, making Narcissa take a step back. "Where's the potion now?"

She narrowed her eyes for a second. "Where you left it." He booked it down the stairs, heart pounding in his chest. He heard his mother calmly follow him, but she was far from his mind.

Just like she said, the cauldron sat where he left it. However, instead of being a nearly clear concoction, it was still off-white. The jar of the puss was empty, but it wasn't the color it was supposed to be.

He didn't remember anything after starting to pour the puss in…

Sakura couldn't have done anything to it, because it would affect her since she was right next to him…right? And she didn't even know what it did, or what it was for.

He couldn't think of anything, and all of his thoughts didn't make sense.

But that dream…that terrifying dream…he clutched at his head. Narcissa went to step by his side, but he straightened himself up before she could reach him.

He didn't know what happened, but he was sure it was Sakura's fault…but it still didn't explain why she would want him to start it with her there if she knew it would go wrong.

He cursed himself and the setback this caused. He'd put his heart into this potion and its success, now he had to revert back to his other plan.

While he still had worked on it, it was half-heartedly. But now that it seemed to be his only option…his hands began to shake at the thought.

It all came down to the next few months.


	17. Kings and Queens

_A/N: Hey lovelies! There are, at the most, TEN chapters left in this story! I'm still trying to generally map out the rest of the chapters, and hopefully next chapter will come with a more accurate countdown!_

_Also, the pairing poll has been finished for a few chapters now! While I still do love seeing who everyone supports, it's over, and the final pairing has already been decided. And, of course, hints both ways will be dropped until the very last moment._

_A new poll has sprung up! It's simply to see what Naruto character that has been briefly mentioned, or not even mentioned at all yet, you would like to see more of. And if your favorite isn't on there, just vote 'other' and tell me in a review! (And you can choose 10/12 of them, as I don't want to limit you!)_

_I have three other projects that I will be writing eventually, and will hopefully begin one during the sequel, or after it's over. None of them are crossed over with HP, but two of them are Naruto (one crossed with Avatar: The Last Airbender, and the other is Yu Yu Hakusho), and one of them is just a Fairy Tail one. All three of them are linked on my profile if you'd like a look-see!_

_**Finally! **__I apologize for the lack of updates! I had an intense screen play to write for my class (about 100 pages) sooo I had to immerse myself in that for a few months._

**Unknown Hero**

**Chapter Seventeen**

_Kings and Queens_

"_We were the kings and queens of promise, we were the victims of ourselves" – 30 Seconds to Mars_

"I've never heard of this particular potion…"

"Are you _sure _you didn't forget something?

"I _didn't_." Sakura grit her teeth. "I made sure of it." Dumbledore raised a hand to silence the two. Snape narrowed his eyes.

"Now, I don't know how Draco knew of this potion, but now that we have all the ingredients and every step, we shall be able to recreate it."

"But Miss Haruno," Snape stood tall, nose turned up, "how _did_ you acquire Vampire's Bite Puss?" She raised a brow.

"Diagon Alley." Both men's eyes widened. "Draco had been reaching for it, so I grabbed it instead. It had been labeled as something else, and the real label was underneath." She turned the container around in her hands, flipping up the false label.

"What's the current status of his potion?"

"He thinks he made it wrong. There's an empty replica of the glass, and he remembers doing it correctly up to that point." She smirked. "He also had slight…_hallucinations_ to make it seem like a side effect of making it wrong. So unless he can somehow find another jar, he's out of luck with that plan."

"What kind of hallucinations?" Snape glowered.

She smiled, shrugging her shoulders. "Beats me,"

* * *

It was dark. Very little light filtered in through the cracks of the stone around them.

It took a few minutes for a bulb to flicker on, and once the light sizzled to life, they were facing each other, faces still as stone.

"No one else must know." The other cackled.

"Never would have guessed." Dark eyes narrowed and the other relented.

"Are you sure we can trust him?" A third questioned, and the others turned to him.

"Lying or not, we have details that could prevent another uprising-"

"It could also incite another uprising. And while we're allies, I doubt Gaara will risk our shinobi again for your ignorance."

The female of the group snorted. "_Our ignorance? _Please. If it wasn't for-"

"Kankurou has a point, Anko."

Anko narrowed her eyes, snorting.

* * *

"I still don't understand why you are needed. I can play the role _just fine_."

Sakura's eye twitched, a tell-tale sign that something _bad_ was going to happen.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Am I stealing your thunder?" She turned on her heel, a smug grin on her face. They were just outside Dumbledore's office, and no one else was wandering the halls – students didn't come back for two days, but they were to come back to re-set sensors and review plans, which Hinata and Naruto were doing around the castle.

Snape narrowed his eyes.

"Then tell me, what have you accomplished so far?" She paused for effect. "Tell me _all_ about that potion- oh, wait, _former potions master_, you've never even heard about it! I've gotten closer; it's my job! And if you don't like it, you can take your little stick and shove it-"

"Enough!" He moved to raise his wand, but she propelled herself forward, hand around his neck, and slammed him into the wall.

Dumbledore did not stir.

"Your wand waving is useless." As if to prove her point, she used her other hand to knock his wand out of his grasp.

"Why you little-"

"What, _Professor_?"

* * *

Tsunade knocked another glass of sake back, glaring down a stack of paperwork. Building and reconstruction permits made up the majority of them, but she knew a few treaties and proposals had been snuck into the pile by her not-so-sneaky assistant.

She sighed, resigning herself for at least ten papers before drinking more.

But she was caught off guard by the first piece.

It was a piece of parchment, reminiscent of the mission request sent to her by Albus Dumbledore, and it quickly piqued her interest.

Maybe she'd treat herself to another drink after reading it.

But this piece…it was more of a personal request than anything. Narrowed eyes drank in the contents once, twice, thrice before she summoned an anbu to her office.

"Retrieve Hatake Kakashi," The anbu bowed before disappearing.

The Godaime Hokage sighed, pouring herself another cup of sake. While she sipped this one, she looked towards the board right beside her desk. She erased the last of a three-digit number and replaced it with one that was a value less than the previous. She smiled.

'_The Countdown to Sakura's possible return'_

* * *

Dumbledore let a single silver strand of a memory float down into the Pensieve, swirling within in. He then turned around, gesturing towards it. "This is where you'll find it."

"Find what?" Snape nearly grunted, still ruffled. Dumbledore shot him an unamused look.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Once the events are put into motion…you'll need to lead them there."

"Immediately?"

"No, no. Give them time. Only during a lull can they be led there, or else they will not appreciate a detour and may stray from it."

Snape grimaced, but nodded all the same.

"Of course, Headmaster." With that, he dipped his head and slick locks into the Pensieve, only to be greeted with a much, much younger Albus, drunk with grief, deep within a forest.

* * *

The shinobi trio were the first board the Hogwarts Express, enabling them to set their sensors.

Just like before, Naruto sent in a summon to listen in, since they all knew they wouldn't be welcomed within the mostly-Slytherin compartment.

Once that was achieved, they placed their usual genjutsu as to not be overheard by others. Instead, those listening in would hear a dull murmur that could not be discerned into words.

When settled down, they all sat up straight, ready to talk business.

"We're at the last term here. Last stretch. We may have been given another year, but I don't think we can afford it."

"Dumbledore will die soon. The curse on his hand is spreading, and I estimate it will reach his heart by next year."

"Then we have to do something, s-soon."

"Yes. We have to send clones now to our classes, even the ones with him. All of our time must be devoted to finding his secret. Sakura, recreate the potion. Maybe then we can see what it does."

"Or ask Slughorn,"

"Good idea. We can't afford to waste time anymore."

"It's show time,"

* * *

As he walked from the train, head down, he told Pansy to walk in front of him, but to hold a carriage.

He avoided looking at the creatures that pulled them. His friends couldn't see them – no, they hadn't watched the Dark Lord torture and kill a rebellious subordinate in front of him…a warning.

No, they didn't know of his pain, his _fear_-

"Draco?" He jumped at the hand that was placed on his shoulder. He turned, surprised, to see Hinata.

She gave him a soft smile. "I hope you're feeling better."

He nodded numbly, bidding himself not to shake.

All he could see was her eyes. Before him, they transformed; thick veins surrounded them, seeing right though him. As if he was nothing.

He turned on his heel and briskly walked away, trying to rid his mind of the nightmare.

Hinata nearly giggled.

* * *

Naruto was sprawled out on one of the couches, nearly covered by a blanket that matched the couch.

Harry watched a couple of second years drop their books on his head, mistaking the couch to be empty. Naruto jumped, hands thrown up. "I didn't do it, I swear!"

Harry and Ron laughed, especially now that Lavender was nowhere in sight.

Naruto waved off the apologetic looks from the kids and instead looked to the pair.

"Does that happen often?"

"You have no idea."

Ron gave Harry a nudge in the ribs and the boy sighed. Ron narrowed his eyes by a fraction before turning back to Naruto.

"Y'know, it's still pretty weird to digest that a Gryffindor is friends with Draco, given how he treats us and all."

Naruto blinked. "I wouldn't call us friends. It's more so that we're international relations. Besides, I've befriended people who have been called monsters, so I think I can handle dealing with Draco."

He tried _so hard_ not to laugh at their bewildered faces.

* * *

Ino stared down the pile of presents that remained unopened from Christmas, almost two weeks ago.

Her father grabbed a particularly heavy one, smiled, and placed it in front of her. "I think you should open this one first."

Dead eyes stared at it blankly before they widened at the familiar handwriting in bright green.

"Sakura!" Inoichi smiled as she tore away the navy wrappings. Light purple paper obscured the contents, but atop them sat a pile of multi-colored letters.

The first explained her mission – that she couldn't accurately describe to Ino before she left – as well as the workings of the school.

…_I must say, pig, according to the traits, you'd be in Gryffindor, for sure. Sorry you'd have to deal with Naruto, though._

For the first time in a while, the corners of her lips tilted into a smile. She noticed something scarlet in the box, underneath the sea of purple. She pushed the tissue paper aside and her eyes widened at the various, and neatly folded, scarlet-and-gold apparel. The colors of Gryffindor.

The house of the brave.

She choked back a sob. "Ino-chan, look at these." Her father pulled out an envelope that was beside a scarf, and both their eyes widened when _moving pictures_ were pulled from it.

There were many of beautiful and interesting creatures, including a small pink puff on Hinata's shoulder. One was Sakura on a broom, a piece of cloth on her forehead with Konoha's symbol on it. Them in what looked to be a kitchen area, with small creatures surrounding them, most of them smiling and laughing as a stack of bowls were beside Naruto; Hinata was cheering beside him as he shoved more ramen into his mouth. There was one of Sakura talking with an old man with a long beard, her smiling gleefully as he handed her the Gryffindor items that she'd given Ino.

The final one didn't move, but it widened her smile much more than the others did.

It was a picture she'd never seen before. She and Sakura were at the training grounds, sitting on the posts, water bottles in their hands and huge smiles on their faces.

Once she removed everything – which included different casual clothes that Sakura must have bought locally and surprising candies – one letter remained at the bottom of the box.

…_If you want an animal, I'll try to smuggle it out for you. Or we can find a way to get back here after I'm back in Konoha, and steal one that way. I could try to see if I can buy one, but smuggling is always much more fun._

_I don't remember when that last photo – the one of us – was taken, but I recently found it and thought you'd like to have it._

_I'm sorry none of us could have helped in light of recent events. I'm so…so sorry Ino… But you can do this. I _know_ you can do this. You're brave, you're strong. You'll succeed._

_I'm rooting for you, Ino._

_xoxo Sakura_

Tears slowly dripped down her cheeks, a smile on her face.

She could always count on her best friend, even when she was a world away.

* * *

"You're doing awesome!" Hinata flew by with a wild smile on her face. She dodged the bludger that was aimed at her with relative ease, making a point to fly over where Justin and Ernie sat. Justin only cheered louder. "We're unstoppable!"

She laughed, knowing he hadn't seen a match in some time. But she was all for his support.

One of the chasers followed Hinata, mimicking Slytherin's typical dirty tricks by constantly trying to knock her off her broom. She expertly dodged all attempts and even caught the snitch while being pushed the opposite way.

Neji might have been the Hyuuga prodigy, but according to the cheers, she was a _Quidditch_ prodigy.

And she was taking a little bit too much pleasure in knowing she was facing Draco in the next match.

* * *

He didn't know how he did it – but it happened.

He struggled to his feet, nursing the wound at his side. Taking a stunted breath, he pushed chakra to the spot in hopes to halt some of the bleeding.

He was no medic, but was worth a try. After all, he had a nearly endless supply of chakra.

Once the bleeding slowed, he slowly by surely wrapped a bandage around his middle, as there was nothing else he could do.

With no one around, he leaned against a tree for a moment in order to gather his thoughts.

They were all either dead or dying, after the battle that ensued between them all, and he didn't know how to react to it. Despite their tough skin, he could nearly call them his friends, save for a choice few he could live without.

Friends that he had fought, friends that he had killed.

Hoshigaki Kisame sighed.

Being unsure of the outcome, he needed to move toward Ame and remain on the outskirts to find out exactly who'd won, and who now controls the village.

Having fought alongside Itachi and Kakuzu against Pein, he hoped one of them remained.

If Pein survived…the world would descend into chaos – and not the good kind, not the promised kind.


	18. Sober

_A/N: So I miscalculated on how many chapters there are left, it's coming to a close much sooner than I anticipated! This story will end in about 5-6 chapters. But as I said before – there is already a sequel planned._

_Also, the pairing will be revealed at chapter 21! Three chapters away! :D I know I'm excited for it!_

**Unknown Hero**

**Chapter Eighteen**

_Sober_

"_I'm safe, up high, nothing can touch me, but why do I feel this party's over? No pain, inside, you're my protection. How do I feel this good sober?" – P!nk_

As soon as Naruto stepped into potions class, he could _feel_ Sakura's excitement radiate off of her. And he didn't realize why until a good ten minutes or so into class when Slughorn finished his rambling and both Hermione and Sakura's hands were down for once when Slughorn revealed that they would be creating an antidote for a poison.

Beside him, he heard Hinata take a forced intake of breath. He knew she was doing much better in this class than he was, but apparently, not by much.

Draco and Blaise even made their own noises of contempt once they realized they were expected to do something.

At Sakura's table, he could see her exchanging competitive glances with Hermione, each trying to see if the other was doing better. While she _was_ dealing with different poisons and ingredients than she was used to back in the hospital in Konoha, he knew Sakura believed her pride as a specialist was on the line.

Her Slytherin friends, Tory and Ophelia, seemed to be doing as miserable as the rest of the class, despite having Sakura at their table. They seemed to keep asking her for tips, but her focus was getting it finished as quick as possible and, most importantly, before Hermione. They frequently sighed, Tory trying a few times before giving up.

At the end of class, Draco managed to spill a portion of his potion on him – which looked and smelled foul –, Naruto himself wasn't able to figure out much, Hinata seemed to be better off than most of the class, and Sakura was the only one to finish her antidote. Hermione tried to stuff more ingredients in after Slughorn called for them to halt.

Sakura grinned proudly, but Slughorn's attention and praise snapped back to Harry when he held out a small, stone-like object called a bezoar.

While Naruto could see Hermione steam over Harry's success, Sakura didn't mind – as long as she beat Hermione, she was happy.

Once it was time to leave, the smile still remained on her face, even as she hurried out of the room in order to avoid Harry. Naruto remained, waiting for Hinata, curiously noting that Harry stayed behind.

* * *

Everything had to happen at once, he supposed. Hermione was now furious, angry at both he and Sakura for what happened in Potions. But he wasn't too worried about that.

He was more-so preoccupied with trying not to strangle Sakura where she sat…so it was easy to say that he was still angry. Humiliated.

He vowed to talk to her about it, to see what she was playing at, to see why she was playing him.

_But first,_ he told himself, steeling himself for the next few minutes, trying to solidify all of his courage, _I need to talk to Professor Slughorn…_

He stayed behind in Potions, his resolve to accomplish his task strong, trying not to think of anything but getting the memory.

* * *

Apparition. Apparently, it was both very dangerous and very useful. One could be gone in an instant – which the three of them already knew how to do with justu.

However, this had much more of a range than what they knew and because of this – and the fact Draco would also be attending – made them all the more attracted to it.

They sent their clones to investigate the castle, one henged into Draco himself in order to look through his room, since almost all his year mates and roommates were at Apparition themselves. If anyone saw the henged clone and asked Draco about it, there was no way he could suspect the shinobi trio, because they'd be there – as well as everyone they knew.

The other clones still scoured the castle – _there were so many halls and rooms _– and placed down general sensors when needed. Because if there was a particularly suspicious room, they wanted to make sure that they could tell if someone was coming in case they didn't hear them sooner.

They themselves waited inside the Great Hall with the other Sixth Years, waiting for their first apparition lesson.

A man came from the Ministry to teach the class; he was a wisp of a man who was so blanched he seemed colorless, nothing either of the three had seen before. The Heads of Houses all stood beside him, looking out into the crowd.

He began to speak, introducing himself as Wilkie Twycross, and seemed indifferent when McGonagall called out Draco for talking. He flushed, receiving everyone's gaze now that he was pointed out. Sakura tried not to laugh.

Twycross continued to speak as if it hadn't even happened. "I would like each of you to place yourselves now so that you have a clear five feet of space in front of you."

Sakura shot Naruto a look and he nodded, immediately making his way towards where Draco stood, just was Harry was. But before Harry saw him, he stopped a decent distance away, but enough so that he could apply chakra to his ears to enhance his hearing in order to catch any possible conversation he was having.

He watched around him as others scrambled for space. Some even went to turn to him to tell him to move before realizing who he was and relenting. The position of an 'untouchable' newcomer had its perks, he supposed.

While students were still skittering about, Draco took the opportunity to finish his conversation with one of his little minions, Crabbe.

"I don't know how much longer, all right? It's taking longer than I thought it would." He sent an icy glare in Sakura's direction, and in her defense, he gave Draco a smug look. Not that he noticed. "Look, it's none of your business what I'm doing, Crabbe, you and Goyle just do as you're told and keep a lookout!"

Harry but in his conversation, and immediately after the Heads called for silence and total concentration on Twycross.

* * *

Ino collapsed to her knees, her vision blurring in front of her. She forced her eyes to stay open, willing herself to stay awake. She felt dizzy, a combination of virtually no sleep and her attempted speed-reading of the books that were sprawled out in front of her.

A figure rushed to her side in seconds, placing a healing hand to Ino's forehead while helping the girl to her feet.

"Ino, you shouldn't do this to yourself," Shizune gently let Ino down into a chair, while everything continued to spin around her. "You haven't left this room in days."

Once Ino was reclined in her chair, Shizune went to pick up the books that were haphazardly strewn about. Her eyes widened, scanning all of the covers. All medical texts.

"Ino…"

Ino didn't look her way.

Shizune pressed on. "Sakura's been sending you some, hasn't she?" She gave a sigh at Ino's silence. "I can understand why you want to help, but-"

"I can understand some of it." Ino whispered, her voice raspy from lack of use. She paused, as if trying to catch her breath, before continuing. "I know the general anatomy, and what I'd need to do…it's just the specifics I can't get down right. Sak's been trying to help, but…I just _can't_. But I feel like if I wait too long, the nerves will be unresponsive and won't-"

Shizune gasped, placing her hand on Ino's knee, startling the girl. "Are you trying to do what I think you're trying to do?"

Ino gave her a withered smile. "If you mean finding a way to get Tenten to walk again, then yes."

* * *

Their first apparition lesson was quite uneventful. Hinata, Justin, and a Gryffindor named Dean had a wonderful laugh at Ernie, who did some sort of twirling dance move and twisted into the hoop that they were to apparate into, and when he opened his eyes he had been _so happy_ at the thought of doing it…but the hysterics he was greeted with told otherwise.

Tory _swore_ she almost apparated, which earned a loud snort from Ophelia. Sakura just shook her head, trying to concentrate, but nothing happened.

They departed from their friends and quickly met back up with Naruto, set on heading towards the Room of Requirement. They dispelled their clones, information flowing through their minds…but it'd have to wait.

* * *

"Nothing!" Heavy sigh. "There's absolutely _nothing_ in his room." Naruto groaned, holding his head in his hands.

"And there was nothing in any other rooms." Sakura sighed, looking up to the ceiling. Hinata's white eyes suddenly went wide. She stood up, slapping a hand on both of her friends' knees.

"Remember when he was s-sneaking around in the Room of Requirement before?" They both nodded. "Well, what if it's here?"

Sakura stood to her feet, engulfing the girl in a hug. "Hinata, you are a genius."

Naruto jumped to his feet as well. "Hold on," He turned to the kunoichi, "while I can't argue that fact," she flushed, "there's just one thing- how will we find it?" They all paused. "The rooms shift to meet a person's needs, right? We may never find it if we don't hear it from him first."

Irate at his logic, Sakura sighed, rubbing her temples. "We should go report this to Dumbledore. Later I'm meeting up with Slughorn to talk about the potion. He might be making more headway than Snape in figuring out exactly what it does. It apparently takes a while to make it properly."

* * *

Harry rested his head against his pillow, his eyes constantly open then forcefully closing them. The events of the day flashed before his eyes, but one stuck out among the rest.

While he was hell bent on finding out what Malfoy was up to…if Sakura was on his side, then why was she laughing at his expense?

Furthermore, he had noticed Malfoy glare at her when he talked about things not going according to plan, not happening fast enough.

Did he have this all wrong? Did Malfoy think he was playing her, when she had her own agenda all along?

It made sense, in a way. Sakura and her friends were new and unaware; they befriended Malfoy, or something like that, only to have him cross them in some way, so they took to revenge.

Of what, Harry hadn't the slightest idea. Hope rather than fact was pushing for this new prospect, that this was the truth, that she wasn't plotting alongside Malfoy all along…

That she didn't play him.

* * *

A month passed with no new information.

After speaking with Dumbledore, he gave them possibilities as to what to look for, but he couldn't give anything accurately, as he admitted to never being in the Room of Requirement before.

They didn't relent, however. They tried everything they could, from trickery to force.

One night, when curfew passed, they set up genjustu barriers to keep in sound along the hallway while Sakura hammered the wall with her strength.

She attempted it for over an hour before Dumbledore appeared, amused, and told them they couldn't get in by force – the door will never open to them.

Sakura then attempted it for the rest of the night, hoping to prove him wrong.

But nothing ever worked.

* * *

It was Ron's birthday, Naruto heard from the house-elves as he sat in the kitchen gulping down bowls of ramen, watching the elves fluttering about, talking of which elves were to bring what present to his bedside during the night.

"So," He began between mouthfuls, "you guys can apparate within Hogwarts, and no one else can?" One of the elves nodded, and Naruto gave them an appreciative look before nodding himself. "Cool,"

* * *

She was late. She threw her cloak around her shoulders as she ran as fast as deemed appropriate within the daytime, skidding around corners, cursing herself. She had clones stationed closer, but they just wouldn't do.

This was important. Today was important. She needed to _be_ there, and not just in body, but in mind and abilities.

She was excited. So excited, in fact, that she hadn't been able to sleep at all the previous night, and her body had tried to get a quick nap in before the day's activities by falling asleep while she began getting dressed.

Needless to say, her annoying roommates' giggling had woken her up, only to find that they were laughing at her ridiculous position and that she was _so very_ _late_.

* * *

Slughorn threw the door open within Harry's first knock, dressed in his usual tight apparel. He didn't seem to notice Harry at first, for he began to greet him amicably.

"Sakura, dear, I was beginning to worry! You'd said you'd be here nearly an hour ago- oh- Harry! What on Earth are you doing here, m'boy?" While Harry was both glad to see that Slughorn didn't seem angry and was curious as to why he was expecting Sakura, he was most pleased that Slughorn was actually here.

"I'm sorry to bother you, Professor," He spoke quietly, in a whisper, "but my friend Ron accidentally ate some love potion-spiked candies… I didn't want to take him to Madame Pomfrey, because-"

Slughorn held up a hand, a warm smile on his face. "I understand, m'boy. Though, I can't help but wonder…why couldn't you whip up an antidote yourself? It'd be easy for you!"

Harry explained it away and, after being told that love potions gained stronger with time, Slughorn eagerly brought him into his room, willing to help Ron, who was getting more annoying by the second, constantly fidgeting and trying to see into the room, where Harry told him Romilda Vane – the culprit – was waiting.

While Slughorn swiftly created an antidote, Harry couldn't help but notice a brewing potion on one of the tables.

He gave Ron the antidote under the guise of tonic for his nerves, and it dispelled the potion easily. In order to celebrate Ron's birthday, Slughorn opened up a bottle of mead. While he began to say a few words in honor of Ron's birthday, Sakura burst through the door.

"I'm so sorry I'm late-" She halted, eyes wide, staring at Harry and Ron – taken completely by surprise.

Harry stared back, last night's ideas flowing through his mind. Maybe, if he had a decent amount of mead, he'd be able to ask her-

His thoughts were cut short, however, when Ron gulped down his mead and subsequently fell to the ground, body convulsing and choking.

"_Ron!_"

Sakura had to hold herself back. She couldn't reveal herself, but she crouched beside him with fake panic, hands appearing to try to calm him when she was actually scanning his body, trying to figure out what was causing this and slowing it down.

Ron's skin began to turn blue.

"Professor! Do something!" Harry shook.

Slughorn stood above them, eyes wide.

"What- but-" He was in shock, and appeared to be useless.

Sakura's chakra searched within Ron's body, finding the poison and tried her hardest to find out its properties in her limited way.

Meanwhile, Harry jumped up, rummaging through ingredients before he re-appeared with what looked to be a bezoar, like before. He stuck the bezoar in Ron's mouth. Ron calmed, after his body gave its final act of the poison's side-effects. He laid limp between Sakura and Harry, and a speechless Slughorn stood above them.

"I'd forgotten about that," Sakura breathed, unsure of what to say. She was sure this was incredibly awkward for him.

Steeling his resolve, Harry gave her a small smile. "Well, it was good that I was here then."

She laughed.

* * *

"Oh no. No, no, no, no, no…" Slughorn moaned, staring helplessly at the boiling cauldron. Sakura and Snape stood behind him, the latter with a look of irritation and utter disgust.

Sakura gave him a gentle smile, though her fists curled dangerously at her sides. "It's understandable. It was forgotten about during that whole scene. We weren't able to put in the ingredients in time…it happens. Besides, saving a life is more important than a potion." She told him calmly, though he could not see her expression.

After all, Slughorn had no idea what the potion was really about, anyway.

She turned to Snape, almost unwillingly. She had to force her words out through her teeth. "It's on you now, _Professor_."

Having the only other potion be in the hands of Snape was everything but a pleasant thought.


End file.
